A Story of Hope
by FoxAircurrent
Summary: A little femme struggles to make something of her broken life. OCs within as well as OCxOC romance. No smut.
1. Comfort

Alright I'm finally getting to publish this one, I've had this story going on for nearly four years on dA. I'm not quite finished with it and I hope to finish soon. It's pretty long with chapters so I'll be posting the chapters in increments of about five or so.

This is also on my deviantART account if you want to read it there. This story somewhat ties in with my other story on here, _Second Chance_, and it's on both sites.

Anyway, Read and Review, they're welcome and loved :3

**Disclaimer:**

Smokescreen and other Canon bots (c) Hasbro

The femme youngling (c) My OC

I make no money off this.

* * *

Half the Autobot base was suddenly awoken by a screaming youngling, as the human missile silo was small. No bot made a move to calm the youngling's screaming and merely returned to recharge, knowing its creator would calm it, as it screamed regularly. Only Smokescreen remained awake, trying to track down the youngling. Still new to the base he did not know the screaming was a nightly occurrence.

Despite the anxiety he felt approaching the door at what he might find, the fear and worry he felt for the femme caused him to nervously enter the young femme's quarters, optics widening at the trembling femme. He hesitantly approached her and tried to soothe the distressed femme. He crouched before her with slow movements as not to scare her. She stared at him with terrified, but beautiful optics while she whimpered and tucked herself into a ball. "Hush little one." Smokescreen spoke gently and brushed her cheek, coming a bit closer.

She calmed somewhat and he sat beside her slowly. He allowed her to become accustomed to his presence and his young spark lurched at the pained look she gave him. She whimpered again, uncurled from her tight ball and forced herself into his arms, with a slight protest from him. He fell silent when he felt the young femme's frame trembling in his arms and he pulled her closer while his paternal instincts kicked in. "Sh." He murmured, still attempting to calm her. She buried herself as close to him as she could and began sobbing as the terror and fear from her nightmare overwhelmed her.

Smokescreen hushed her gently and she clung to him until the pull of recharge caused her to slip back into the blackness. He shifted the femme and leaned on the berth awkwardly, so he wouldn't crush his doorwings, smoothing her back until he was sure she was recharging. He frowned, feeling two gaps in her back armour as if she once had doorwings, but he ignored it. He leaned against the berth, holding the little femme protectively until recharge took him.


	2. Hated

**Warning: this chapter contains child abuse, if you do not like it, do not read.**

'nuff said.

The young femme is mine

Other characters (c) Hasbro

* * *

The femme roused in the white mech's arms. She blinked in surprise but soon relaxed, realizing this was the mech that came to her room when no one else would, and gave her comfort. She was happy that someone cared for her, though he was a complete stranger, but she knew if her father found her with the white mech, he would run the mech out and beat her viciously, as he always did.

She glanced at the mech as he stirred, his handsome optics fluttering online. He looked surprisingly young, possibly barely over than Bumblebee but much older than herself. She needed to find a way to get him out of the room without seeming desperate, her father would be returning soon. "Good morning young one." She couldn't stop herself from smiling at his voice, so kind, so caring, the complete opposite of her father. He smiled back at her and stroked her cheek gently. Despite his young, the young mech seemed to be calm and gentle, as a brother or true father would. She bit her lip to prevent herself from yelping at the pain that spasmed up her cheek.

The mech seemed to notice but didn't act upon it. He merely transitioned to stroking the back of her helm. "What's your name?" He asked gently and gazed into her optics. Her mint green optics widened at the unexpected question. Name? She didn't really have a name unless the insults her father screamed at her counted as names. She shifted awkwardly, biting her lip once more to keep from crying out.

The white mech studied her silently, while patiently waiting for her to reply. "My name's Verhasst." She blurted, remembering the word for 'hated' in German. She disliked lying to him, or anybot for that matter, but it was the only way to keep him from being killed. The young mech smiled weakly. "That's a," He gave a slight pause. "Nice name." She could tell he knew something was wrong but he still refused to show it.

The young femme slipped off the white mech's lap and sat while he stood. "Well I'm sorry little one, but I have to help Ratchet and I need to be going." He crouched before her and whispered. "If you need me, for anything, I'll be in the medical bay." He stood and walked out slowly, pausing at the door. "Oh, I almost forgot, my name's Smokescreen." He turned and gave her a lopsided smiled, then left. She smiled hopefully as he left the room but it quickly faded.

She sighed and leaned against the berth, tired and hungry she hoped to see the white mech again. He was kind and she wanted her father to be like him. Her father was probably going to return from his mission and beat her as he did most nights. She sighed again and rested on the floor weakly. She received little energon from her father and the beatings drained her. She hadn't realized she dozed off until her father burst through the doorway, stumbling and yelling.

She jolted awake when he grabbed her and slammed her against the wall. She whimpered and shrank away as she caught a whiff of his stench. He reeked of high-grade and his optic burned with sheer hatred. He glared at her as if she was something disgusting and the look in his optics told her this would beating would be much worse than any other.

"What are you doing on the floor?" He growled and tightened the grip on her neck. She coughed lightly, whimpering, "I rolled off the berth while I recharged." She knew her excuse was lame but in his drunken state she knew it might work. "So why didn't you get up and get back on it?" He snarled, optics flaring.

"I was too tired." She lied quickly then wished she hadn't. Overcome by aggression her father growled again and flung her to the floor. She whimpered when her helm collided with the floor and she attempted to crawl away desperately. He grabbed her foot tightly and drug her closer to him. She shrank away from him as he towered over her. "I don't even know why I even helped create you." He snarled and began beating her.

She forced her optics offline and silently took the pain from each blow. She gave out pitiful and begged him silently to stop. He ignored her pleas, occasionally pausing to rest the continuing the beating. The beating continued for several hours, until he finally stopped with a fierce kick, then left her for his room.

Her foreshadow about the beating was correct. Never had she known this much pain in her short life. Her entire body screamed in agony and she lied in a puddle of her own energon. She coughed weakly and more energon splattered into the puddle. "If you need me, I'll be in the medical bay." Smokescreen's words echoed in her helm, she knew then she had to go find him, she had to.

Scrapping together the last of her strength, she struggled to her feet. Pain flared up her entire frame but she forced herself to move forward. She slumped against the doorframe as the door hissed open and she staggered into the hall. She didn't care that her father might hear her, follow and drag her back. For the first time in her life, she was going to help herself. She vaguely remembered where Ratchet worked and through the veil of semi-consciousness and shock, she stumbled around the halls.

She never truly saw the halls, something in her spark guiding her, until she made it to the medical bay. She barely had enough strength to enter the medical bay and she was slightly surprised to find the wide space empty except for Smokescreen and the medic. Both looked up at her surprised. She could only stumble forward towards a nearby berth and manage, "S-Sm-Smoke-sc-screen… h-help me…" Before unconsciousness slammed into her and she thudded to the floor.


	3. Questions

The young femme, the femme's mother and father, and Umbra (c) Me

Smokescreen, Ratchet, other Canon bots (c) Hasbro

* * *

Smokescreen paced the hallway leading to the energon storage room, knowing Ratchet needed energon soon. "How is she Ratch?" Smokescreen asked as the medic approached to retrieve energon. Hours crept by since the femme collapsed in the medical bay and Ratchet began repairing her, after shooing him out. The medic sighed and gazed at him. "She's still unconscious but she will recover." Smokescreen's tensed doorwings relaxed the tensed again. "How can you be so sure?" He pressed a bit nervous. His spark ached with paternal instincts and he desperately wanted to see the little femme.

Ratchet rested a hand on his shoulder. "She'll be okay, she will. She's a strong young femme, she'll make it." Smokescreen sighed and stared in the direction of the sickbay. "Get some rest." Ratchet murmured, but it was more of an order than a request. Smokescreen nodded and retreated to his room reluctantly after murmuring goodbye to Ratchet. He knew he would worry too much about the femme to recharge but he hoped to rest. He entered his room and flopped down onto the berth with a distressed sigh. He let his mind wander and drifted into a light recharge.

"Hey sweetie." Smokescreen spoke gently in Cybertronian, unsure if the young femme knew English. He smiled as he approached the femme's side. Ratchet had finally allowed him to see her and he was delighted. The young femme smiled back surprisingly brightly and sat up slowly, watching him sit down by her. He pulled her close gently and she yawned softly, wincing slightly in pain. "How do you feel?" Smokescreen asked calmly, his spark swelling with happiness. The femme shrugged with a wince. "Pretty good, still a bit sore…" For the first time Smokescreen heard the little femme's voice.

She spoke in Cybertronian and it was a little hesitant, as if she couldn't speak it well. Her tone was soft but she didn't mumble. Ratchet reluctantly allowed a femme to ask her questions. The femme was similar to a human social worker. Because the idea was Smokescreen's he had to ask. "Little one, do you think you can answer some questions?" The young femme gazed at him curiously but nodded. "Sure."

As if on cue, a light grey and white femme entered and settled quietly in front of her. The younger femme eyed the grey femme a bit nervously and pressed closer to Smokescreen while he gazed at her infatuated. The grey femme smiled reassuringly, ignoring the mech's gaze, and spoke kindly. "Is it okay if I ask you some questions sweetie?" The grey femme spoke in Cybetronian as well, to be sure the little sparkling understood her. The young femme hesitated and nodded. "Yeah, sure." The grey femme's smile brightened. "Good. My name is Umbra, what is your name sweetie?" The young femme paused in consideration. "I-I don't really have one…" She murmured. Umbra seemed to be taken aback and her optics softened.

"We'll get you one, little one." Umbra promised. "Really?" The young femme asked excitedly. The elder femme smiled and nodded. "Yes really." The younger femme and leaned less on Smokescreen, feeling more comfortable around the older femme. "I want you to know little one, if you need a break, you can take one, okay?" Umbra told her tenderly. The young femme nodded. "Okay." She watched Umbra take out a small object and place it on the berth beside her. "It's a tape recorder." Umbra explained. "So the bots listening to it will know the records aren't fake, corrupted or scripted. The young femme nodded in understanding as Umbra pressed a button, turning on the recorder.

"Okay sweetie, I'll start out by asking about your parents, is that okay?" The younger femme nodded and Umbra smiled softly at her. "Did you know your mother?" The young femme shook her helm. "No, I've just known my father, but I kind of remember a little of her." "How much?" Umbra pressed gently. "Just a warm smile, loving murmurs, that's about it." Umbra nodded once and continued. "Did you have any siblings?" The light blue femme shook her helm. "No, at least, not that I can remember."

Umbra scribbled something on her datapad, one she took out right after retrieving the recorder and let a comfortable moment of silence fall before she asked a difficult question. "When did your father start hitting you?" The young femme paused. "I don't know. I don't remember when I was ever not hit." Both older bots gazed at her in surprise and Umbra shifted her voice to a more comforting tone. "How often did he hit you?" "Almost every day." The young femme's voice faltered as memories began to surface.

The older femme nodded, her optics showing pity and sympathy as she continued to question the younger femme for about an hour until the older femme came to a question the younger couldn't quite answer. "Do you love your father?" The question caught her off guard. She didn't hate her father, well she disliked him, but she didn't really love him either. He gave her a place to stay and the occasional scraps of energon. "I-I guess… I mean, he's my father, so I kind of have to love him." She paused. "Right?" Umbra smiled at her. "You really don't have to love him, especially after what he did to you." The young femme nodded quietly in agreement, but she still couldn't bring herself to hate her father.

She had been trying to remember her mother throughout the questioning since Umbra brought it up. She thought back as far as she could and a memory of her mother popped into her helm. She grabbed Umbra's hand as the femme was about to stop the recorder. Both bots stared at her startled. "Don't stop it. I remember something about my mother." She chocked. "What was it?" Umbra asked, obviously intrigued but she pressed her gently. Tears started streaking down the young femme's cheeks and she shuddered. "My father killed her… He took her life because she was trying to protect mine…"

The two bots stared as the memory became clearer. Umbra wrapped her arms around the young femme and allowed the small femme to sob into her chest. "Sh, it's okay little one, it's okay." Umbra murmured soothingly and after a while the young femme managed to calm. "Can you tell us about what happened?" Smokescreen asked, then added. "You don't have to if you don't want to." The young femme shook her helm. "I want to tell you, I do." Umbra and Smokescreen studied her as she took in a shuddering breath and began.


	4. Painful Memories

AN: You guys should know the drill now, with the OCs but to reinstate:

Hope(Faith), Libel, Aspire, and Umbra are mine.

Smokescreen (c) Hasbro

The author's notes wont be very long, sorry there's just too many for amazing thoughts on all of them.

* * *

_The little femme woke to her parents arguing. She guessed most families fought but she was certain they didn't quarrel as much as her parents. She lied on her berth, listening to their yelling for an hour or so before curiosity got the better of her. Slipping off the berth, she held her blanket close and she shuffled to the door. She reached up and cracked it open quietly, peering at her parents outside. Her father swayed on his feet, struggling to keep himself standing. Her mother stood across from him looking extremely annoyed. _

_ "It was just this once love." Her father slurred, obviously heavily overcharged. "That's what you said last Libel, and the time before that, and the time before that. I'm sick of you coming home every night drunk. I'm sick of it so it's either Faith and I, Faith your __**daughter**__, or the high grade." Her mother growled. Her father pondered for a moment before his expression turned to one of sheer hate._

_ "It's always about you and that __**thing **__isn't it?" He growled and took a step towards her mother threateningly. Instincts made the young femme slip from her room and fear rose in her spark. "Mommy?" She yawned tiredly, acting as if she had just woken up. Her mother's uneasy gaze changed to a soft one. "Go back to your room sweetie." The little femme stood there defiantly, scared for her mother._

_ "But I had a bad dream!" She protested. "I want to recharge with you." "Get back to your fragging you slagging piece of scrap!" She flinched at her father's insults and tone of voice and glanced at her mother. Her mother looked angry but her gaze told the young femme to return to her room so she reluctantly did, closing the door softly. She retired to her berth, pulling her warm blanket closer to her as she listened to her parents' fighting progress. _

_ She was wondering why her father suddenly hated her so much when he used to adore her as she began to doze. She felt a sparkling her age shouldn't worry about her mother or her own life but she did. She jolted awake when her mother screamed, __**"Don't you hurt her!"**__ There was a loud clang and her mother cried out in pain. Fear spread through her body and festered in her spark as she slipped off the berth, clutching her blanket closer while she silently opened the door. _

_ Her optics widened when she saw her mother on the floor, her cheek had a gash on it with energon oozing from the cut. It took a few seconds for the femme to realize her father had struck her mother. She forced herself not to bolt to her mother, as her father was standing above her mother, looking as if he wished to kill her. He walked to her mother and picked her up by the throat. "That's all you care about isn't it Aspire?" You and that __**thing**__" Her mother gasped for air as his grip tightened. The little femme watching the scene whimpered as her mother clawed at his powerful hands desperately, trying to loosen the grip. Her mother's optics blazed with terror and the young femme began quivering. _

_ "I've always you and that thing, and I don't know why I became your mate." He hissed. "Libel, stop, please. Please stop." Her mother begged, barely able to speak. "No, I've had enough of your nagging. You deserve to die, but don't worry, I'll keep that __**thing,**__" He jerked his helm in the little femme's direction. "In there alive, but barely." Tears began to swell in her mother's optics as the full realization hit. _

"_Please, don't hurt her Libel, please…" Her mother's voice was faint as she beseeched the mech. "Shut up." Her father snarled warningly. "Please don't Libel, please do-" Whatever else her mother was going to say was cut off by a sickening snap. Her mother tensed , her optics popped and her once beautiful green-blue optics dulled to a lifeless grey, along with her soft purple and blue armour. _

_The little femme nearly burst into sobbing when her father dropped her mother's lifeless body as if it were nothing but trash. She whimpered and closed the door softly, wanting the image of her dying mother to leave her young mind. In time, it would, but now it was fresh and incredibly painful. She stood at the door silently sobbing from distress. _

_She shook with fear as she made her way back to the berth and lied on her side to protect her small doorwings. She buried herself under her blanket, which had her mother's scent all over it, not knowing if her father would kill her too. She did know one thing though, as she sobbed herself to sleep, with her blanket muffling the sound, her life was going to change greatly but not for the better. The little femme fell into a fitful recharge before she could hear her father's wild grunting while he defiled her mother's lifeless body. _

* * *

By the time the femme finished her recount of the horrid memory, tears poured down her face and she quaked. Umbra gazed at her with soft optics and tears welled in her optics, but the older femme held the tears back long enough to reach over and turn off the recorder. Umbra hugged her tightly as tears streamed down the older femme's face. "It's going to be okay Faith." The young femme stiffened at her use of her name and she felt Smokescreen's warm grip around her shoulders as Umbra pulled away to wipe away tears.

"Well, if we can't get the slagger for child abuse, we can get him for murder." Smokescreen spoke to Umbra rather childishly while he crouched beside the younger femme. The femme whimpered as the memory flared and Smokescreen tightened his grip gently, rubbing her back soothingly. She shifted and rested her helm on his chest, listening to the calming beat of his spark. She hoped by the end of this mess she could be for by Umbra or him, despite Smokescreen's youth.

"Do you still want to change your name Faith?" The visible flinch the young femme gave at the repeated use of her name made Umbra frown. "Do you not like that name?" The young femme shook her helm. "I love the name but…" Tears welled up again. "My mother gave it to me and it has a lot of bad memories with it…" Umbra nodded once. "Why don't we pick a new one, and I'll change the records."

"I think I have a good one for you." Smokescreen smiled. "What is it?" Umbra turned to look at him. Smokescreen's quirky smile brightened. "Hope." Umbra nodded and then both bots gazed down at the young femme waiting for her to respond. She pondered the name for a while and giggled, feeling the happiness rolling off the pair. Wiping away her tears, she spoke, "I love it." She beamed and hugged Smokescreen.


	5. New Life

_AN:_

_Hope, Libel Aspire and other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen (c) Hasbro_

* * *

Hope sat on Smokescreen's berth in his quarters excitedly waiting for him to return. She had been temporarily assigned to Smokescreen's care after her father was thrown into the brig and she really wanted to remain with Smokescreen. He became much like a father to her, acting more of a real father than Libel and she was glad to be away from the mech. She had someone that loved her and didn't beat her for petty incidents. She had a fresh start, a new life.

She glanced up as Smokescreen entered the room, a soft smile spread across her faceplates. She darted to him and hugged him tightly, unable to resist. He smiled while picking her off the ground, though it wasn't far, and hugged her gently against his chest. He spoke happily. "You're going to be staying with me. I've never raised a youngling, but I think I can manage."

Her smile brightened and she emitted a delighted giggle, happiness swelling in her spark. He kissed her forehelm gently and she rested her cheek on his shoulder. "I'm so happy…" She whispered to him. "I'm so happy that I can stay with you…" "Same here sweetie, same here." He replied rubbing between her doorwings. Her systems purred happily and she nuzzled the broad metal chest. He gently placed her on the berth again and brushed her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Get some rest sweetie, you need it." Hope nodded lightly and flopped down with a slightly sleepy smile. He smiled softly and patted her helm, moving to leave. "I'll be gone for a while, the team needs my skill but I'll come back, I promise." His smile turned to a sloppy grin as he left. She sighed softly, somewhat saddened, and nodded, turning over to her side so she didn't crush her newly built doorwings, letting her thoughts wander as she dozed. The memories of her old life still haunted her dreams and she was glad she had a new name. She rather liked her old name, because her mother gave it to her, but there were too many horrible memories with it.

She missed her mother dearly as her mother was so kind in the few memories she had of her. The torture she endured wiped most of her memories from before the beatings started. She just wished that her mother could be with her to guide her. A slight pang of loneliness hit her spark and she sighed lightly. Even though Smokescreen cared for her, he couldn't replicate the motherly feelings she missed so much. She actually hoped Smokescreen's infatuation with Umbra would lead him to become her mate. The older femme gave off a motherly sense she desperately needed, but she could wait. With a soft yawn, she slipped into recharge, dreaming of what her new life would change into.

* * *

When Smokescreen returned, he found Hope recharging peacefully on his berth. Lying on her side, she prevented and unneeded stress on her newly replaced miniature doorwings, but it also made him realize how small she was, tucked into a tiny ball. Her face peaceful as she slept and he didn't disturb her as he sat beside her. He lied on her side, his frame aching from the recent battle. He caressed on of her doorwings and the sensitive structure instinctively relaxed to the touch, twitching upwards so he could rub it further.

Others might think the stroking odd, but to bots with doorwings, it was a daily occurrence that created social bonds and relieved strain brought on by regular movement. Smokescreen knew how sensitive the wing-like projections could be and Hope's could possibly be more delicate. The white mech smiled softly when Hope snuggled close to him, tucking into a tight ball near his chest, using his arm as a pillow much as he did the same. He continued to rub the little femme's doorwings, frowning at the smoothness of the metal beneath his fingertips. Ratchet had replaced her, as they were missing, and he loathed the thoughts that met his CPU when he remembered.

She might have had them when she was younger but her father probably tore them off, as Ratchet remarked, the connecting wires looked frayed. His musing paused when the little femme's expression twisted with fear and a feeble whimper escaped her lip plates. Smokescreen stopped caressing her doorwings and instead settled for the spot between them, a spot he knew she enjoyed. He relaxed and vented air he hadn't realized caught when the minute when the femme's faceplates returned to a halcyon expression.

Smokescreen settled laggardly, studying Hope's calm face. He was glad to soothe her so quickly but unsure if he could repeat if another nightmare returned. His youth and inexperience made him nervous of caring for the younger Cybertronian, as he was still considered a youngling himself. His little knowledge of younglings showed when he held Hope close, in an awkward grip. He was terrified of harming her, so he didn't hold her as tightly as she wanted. Regardless of his anxiety, he adored her and wanted nothing for the best for her. He hoped caring for her would give her a new, positive outcome. Before he fell into recharge, he reminded himself to speak with Optimus Prime on the topic of her education, mainly to start schooling her in English, as Cybertronian was all she knew.


	6. Captured

_AN:_

_Libel and Hope are mine_  
_Transformers (c) Hasbro_

* * *

Her world spun around her when something heavy struck her helm. Dizziness overwhelmed her and she fell limp as her body and CPU struggled to recover. Another sharp blow caused her vision to blur and made her audio's ring. In the heavy daze of trauma, the only thing she did was weakly pull her arms over her helm. It helped ease the blows from her father but it didn't fully stop damage. Hope knew she wasn't finished when her father stopped beating her helm.

She felt something brush her doorwings and in a split second, it turned agonizingly painful as claws dug deep into the sensitive structures, slicing the metal open, ripping up the delicate wires, and adding more energon to the stained floor. She couldn't fight back the screams of suffering and distress that ripped through her lips as her doorwings were slowly torn apart. Tears poured from her optics and mixed with the energon below as she sobbed in agony, she wanted to stop but the pain was too great. Through her blurry vision, she saw a form standing above her, her optics tried to focus but failed to.

She emitted a strangled, animalistic sound of pain as the form's foot collided with her forehelm. She could hear the cracking sound as the armour of her helm broke from the force and she heard the snapping go down the length of her helm. She bled profusely from the new wound and her vision went completely black. She lost her hearing as well as her sense of direction and balance; feeling as if she were spinning while lying still on the floor. She became weaker from energon loss so she no longer tried to flee. She lay on the floor limply and took the painful blows her father and his friend gave her. She was giving up, she didn't want to but her systems were on the verge of crashing and she didn't have the strength to fight death.

She doubted she would survive the beating and simply accepted the fact that being beat by her father was how she was meant to die. She had stopped crying because her systems desperately needed the nutrition and extra strength that was provided by stopping. The fluid from her tears had dried and crusted around her optics, leaving streaks down her cheeks where they had eroded the dried energon away. It was painful to offline her optics, but she liked the darkness created by offlining her optics more than the blackness created by helm trauma. She felt slightly safer in the blackness and her body wanted her to curl up in a ball, but the pain stopped her.

She shrieked in excruciating pain as something plunged into her abdomen and she realized in only a second that a knife had sank deep into her. She screamed louder when the blade ripped through her abdomen, twisting and jerking purposefully, the force of her screams turned her voice to static and she lost more energon. She wheezed as she cycled air, trying not to listen to the gurgling sound when she breathed. Energon spilled from her newly acquired wounds and her systems shut down forcefully. Covered with her own energon and in painful suffering, she eventually lost consciousness and launched into stasis.

When Hope awoke, she was freezing; she couldn't see and could barely hear. She shuddered as a piercing wind sliced through the thin metal of her protoform. She felt the object over her optics tighten and she suddenly was lifted off the ground. She thought the blindfold pointless as without it, she still couldn't see. She squirmed weakly, feeling the grip of bots on her arms. She didn't have the strength to fight them off so she fell limp in their arms. A squeal escaped her lips as she was heaved into the air and splashed into frigid water. Her internal temperature dropped almost instantly from the extreme cold and she thrashed desperately as she sank.

She struggled to keep herself above the waves but her hands and feet were bound so she plunged to the depth of the icy water. Her internal temperature continued to fall drastically as she slipped into the dark water. Ice began to form on her armour and she could feel her armour strain under the water pressure. Once again, her systems forcefully began to shut down from the pressure and cold, she crashed into stasis, but this time she knew surviving was near impossible. Unconscious, she disappeared into the dark abyss as if she was a ghost.


	7. Found

_AN: Open Sea and Hope, though she doesn't remember who she, are are mine_

_Transformers (c) Hasbro_

* * *

A light pressure on her arm notified her to the terrifying fact she wasn't alone. Panic from an unknown source bubbled to her spark and the beating increased. The femme thrashed and writhed desperate to get away from the pressure in a blur of panic, confusion and pain. It brought new fear and confusion filtering to the surface. The grip on her arms disappeared and the choke hold the darkness had on her sanity lessened.

The femme continued to wheeze in pain. This situation seemed familiar to her but she was unsure how. Her memories of before were gone, adding to the pandemonium of her scrambled mind. Her entire body was racked in pain and she purged everything from her tanks.

* * *

Open Sea winced as the femme forced up everything in her fuel tanks. The sudden vomiting was brought on by pain she could not help with. She was hesitant to grab the tiny femme again as the small Cybertronian continued to panic, showing true fears while she battled beings only she could see. With a frustrated vent, Open Sea gently took her into her arms when she ceased vomiting. She expected the animal like scream of suffering but it still made her flinch and loosen her grip. She quickly tightened her grip lightly to keep the femme from slamming into the ice below as she fell.

The smaller Cybertronian thrashed closer to her, as if her mind was split between fighting to escape and warming. Open Sea forced out warm air through her vents and the femme stiffened, shivered and tucked against her. The elder femme was relieved the smaller still responded to stimuli. The large crack running down her helm ensured CPU damage. Open sea held her close, taking as much weight as she could from the femme to ease the pain. The younger femme seemed to sense that and her sparkrate lowered to the point the elder could no longer feel it vibrating through her armour.

She watched the younger femme's mint green optics turn black as she offlined them. She was slightly relieved that she could rest; it would allow her to recover faster. Open Sea tried not to focus too much on the femme's injuries, or the fact she had almost died while the elder femme pulled her from the water. The femme was somewhat safe now and she hoped it would stay that way. Tenderly, she stood, relaxing while the femme continued to rest. She took the first step of a long trek back, hoping Glacierbreaker could repair her.


	8. Awoken

_AN: Hope(Peppermint), Open Sea and Glacierbreaker are my OCs_

_Transformers (c) Hasbro_

* * *

The femme took a while to recognize the beeping corresponded with the beat of her spark. The setting seemed familiar, but also so alien. She looked around the haze of colours the made her blurred world, flinching at the harsh light overhead. The oddly familiar sound of a door hissing open drew her gaze to the general area. It nearly made a memory spiral up so she could grasp it but the memory sank back into the abyss of her confused mind.

The femme jerked at a gentle touch and stiffened. Her cycling paused and the ungracious beeping increased slightly. The touch lifted and she relaxed as did the beating. A tender voice spoke to her and she guessed it was a femme from the tone. She couldn't distinguish what she was saying but the caring tone soothed her.

Her gaze shifted to the direction of the voice and she spooked at the proximity of the odd green blob that made up the femme and her voice. A bright blue smear stood behind her quietly. The green femme's voice paused, followed by a feminine touch to her cheek. She tensed but as the touch became a warmhearted caress, she quickly relaxed. When the unknown femme's voice returned in a lullaby tone; urges to shut down for recharge pressed her mind. She fought briefly but eventually gave in, sinking into a sound recharge.

* * *

Weeks had passed since the mint opticed femme had woken from the medically induced coma. Open Sea was relieved she recovered quickly, though not fully. Glacierbreaker patched the massive gash along her belly the best he could, but healing would take more time. Numerous dents and small cuts in her thin armour had been repaired, while the larger, thicker slashes and dents would be fixed later on. Glacierbreaker noticed torn, frayed wires on her back where no armour covered the protoform. The little femme had doorwings and would take a while to replace.

The expanse of damage to the femme made Open Sea wonder how she survived. She seemed so frail and tiny, almost helpless. The younger femme regained her hearing and sight slowly but Open Sea was unsure if her memories would ever return. She knew from the instant she saw the large crack in the femmes helm she would have CPU damage. Glacierbreaker's assessment proved her guesses were correct. The medic repaired her CPU but could not restore her memories.

He was unsure if the femme's memories would ever come back. Open Sea was saddened by the prospect but happiness melted her spark every time she saw the younger femme thriving. The light blue femme was super sweet but terribly shy. Her light blue and light purple armour with her mint coloured optics matched beautifully and made her look gorgeous in her opinion. Her round shaped optics gave her an even sweeter, cuter appearance while they reeked of youngling innocence.

The button cute femme deserved more than what she received. Open Sea didn't know why but she felt the young femme had a terrible life before. In every visit Open Sea could see the youngling's happiness even in pain and it made her spark swell. The youngling was like most younglings around her estimated age, insanely curious and Sea studied the young femme gently, sitting by her side in a cozy chair. The silence encircling them comfortable and relaxed, while the elder femme read quietly beside the younger. The younger was distracted by the room and her curiosity so she took in the details of the make shift medical bay quietly.

Open Sea put her datapad into subspace as a sudden thought into her mind and she spoke. "You need a name." The light statement made the light blue femme's optics snap to her. Open Sea spoke in Cybertronian because the smaller femme appeared confused when she spoke English. They flickered lightly as if a memory was coming to her but the young femme shook her helm and the flickering halted. She looked back at the elder femme curiously. Open Sea knew what her thoughts were. 'What ideas do you have?' Open Sea brainstormed temporarily; saddened the younger femme was not speaking yet, hoping the femme would regain her speech.

She looked up and her optics locked with the mint of the young femme's. The name slipped from her lips before she could stop it. "Peppermint." A brief silence captured the room and the elder femme continued, "It'll be temporary, until you remember the one from before." The tiny femmes shuttered her optics slowly in understanding. Open Sea smiled. "I believe it fits you. You're sweet with a little kick." She poked Peppermint's belly and the younger femme squealed happily. Her smile brightened on her metal lips. Life would be interesting with this femme around.


	9. Remembering

_AN: Hope/Faith(Peppermint), her mother, Open Sea and Glacierbreaker are mine_

_Transformers (c) Hasbro_

* * *

"Come on sweetspark, you can do it." Open Sea spoke encouragingly to Peppermint. The elder femme stood a few strides away trying to coax her to walk. The younger femme clutched the berth for support, wobbly standing on her pedes and felt as a sparkling learning to walk would. It was somewhat embarrassing to the younger femme as she was much older than a sparkling. Her back felt uncomfortably empty for an unknown reason; as if she was missing something.

Her body felt the phantom limb sensation as well, the proof of which was horrendous balance loss and something in the back of her CPU told her what was missing helped her balance. "Minty, sweetspark…" Open Sea's voice broke her musing. The younger femme looked up, distracted and saw her mentor's smiling face. The beaming smile was so familiar. Her frame went rigged, her optics dilated as she suddenly remembered…

* * *

_"Mama?" The little femme chirped nervously, peeking through the crack in her parent's room door. Her father had just left and she was worried for her mother. Her tiny doorwings flutter skittishly as her mother turned to her slowly. The tiny femme watched her mother's doorwings droop lightly and she walked to the door. She scrambled back, stumbling lightly, still becoming used to walking. The elder femme opened the door and sat before her, extending her arms towards her. The sparkling glanced uncertainly at the small, still bleeding nick on her mother's cheek._

_"I'm okay Faith." Her mother cooed reassuringly. The little femme hesitated, but toddled into her mother's lap. Her mother pulled her to her chest gently and she smiled. The older femme's optics glinted with motherly love and kindness as she held the sparkling close to her chest. Her mother's smile was bright and her entire expression was caring. "I will always love you." Her mother promised as she caressed the smaller femme's cheek. "No matter where you are, I will always love you Faith." The sparkling smiled and leaned against her mother, feeling safe in her arms.  
_

* * *

Peppermint lurched away from Open Sea, taking in a strained intake, disoriented from the flood of new information. The femme in her memory was her mother… Her true name still unknown, she knew what her mother's appearance was now. Excitement, fear, pain and confusion swelled in her spark and swirled in her mind. Faith, the name her mother spoke… It sounded partially correct but vague, torturing memories that were struggling to surface in her CPU made her think it was no longer proper.

Her mind was still flooded rapidly with thoughts. She'd fluttered her doorwings in her memory… Her optics widened when she suddenly realized she no longer had doorwings. She now knew why she had phantom limb pain and sudden loss of balance. "Mint?" The light blue femme spooked lightly when Open Sea rested a hand on her cheek but she calmed at the older femme's gentle voice. Open Sea helped her sit up and she looked to Open Sea for an answer as to why she was on the floor.

"Peppermint you scared me." The elder femme breathed out. "You looked at me, went ridged and then just, fell." Tears were welling in her optics as she pulled the young femme into a tight hug just like her mother. "I was so scared you were hurt…" Her voice cracked and she squeezed Peppermint tighter. "I love you so much little one…" "I love you too Sea." Peppermint replied softly, speaking her first words since her rescue from the sea. She felt hot tears roll down her shoulder and she squeezed back in the hug.

* * *

"You really like that femme, don't you?" Open Sea jumped slightly, breaking her concentration. She gave a tiny nod and tried not to look at the ice blue mech. He settled into a chair beside her and she felt her spark flutter. He was an attractive mech and she didn't want him to see the heavy blush spreading across her cheekplates. "I would warn you not to get attached to her but it's too late." Open Sea felt a shiver creep up her spinal column as she listened to Glacierbreaker's silky, suave voice.

"Have you started on her doorwings?" She asked keeping her helm down and pretending to read as she kept an optic on the recharging Peppermint. "I have yet to receive the supplies but I will start as soon as I can." He paused. "Sea." She looked up into his handsome, deep indigo optics. Her cheeks became redder as he cupped her chin and tenderly made her look into his optics. "Promise me you'll be able to let the femme go back once summer comes." She opened her mouth to protest but she closed it again when he spoke firmly, cutting her off. "Promise me Sea." "I promise…" She whispered reluctantly as Glacierbreaker released her chin, letting her helm hang. It would hurt to let her go…


	10. Decorating

_AN:_

_You should know what OCs are mine._

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus Prime and other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_I do not own Transformers._

_Oh yeah, and have a little OCxOC romance ;), nothing graphic though_

* * *

Peppermint noiselessly watched Open Sea hang a long line of tiny, multicoloured glass lights upon a tree and the rest of the base. The vibrant tree and lights seemed alien against the bland slate grey of the metal walls. Curiosity overwhelmed the young femme's instinctive caution so she walked to the older femme. She listened happily to her hum songs silkily, songs she didn't recognize. She paused slightly before speaking, feeling hesitant but she was curious.

"What are you doing?" Peppermint asked shyly. "Hanging Christmas lights." The elder femme replied brightly with a delighted smile. "What's Christmas?" Peppermint questioned, mildly confused. "It's a human holiday based on gift giving and being kind and joyous." The elder femme responded and finished with the strands of lights. "I have your gift but Santa hasn't come to give you more yet."

She brushed garland and tinsel off herself and walked to Peppermint, giving her a big hug. Peppermint remained perplexed as they pulled from each other. "It's really fun to open presents around the tree and bake cookies for Santa to take." The elder femme's excited voice changed to a whisper. "'Breaker doesn't like it because he has to pass out the presents." Peppermint giggled at the femme's statement and childlike excitement but was still confused as to who or what 'Santa' and 'humans' were; she didn't show it. However, she did ask with a flushed, crimson face, embarrassed because she didn't know.

Open Sea reacted with a warm, supporting smile and explained her human question first. "Humans are little creatures that are native on this planet. Our home is Cybertron and their home is this planet they call Earth. Most don't live here in the Arctic because it's too cold for them but some do." She explained it so Peppermint could understand easily and continued with her Santa Claus question. "Santa Clause is a human that delivers presents to every little boy and girl, or mech and femme, on the planet on Christmas Eve."

"He drives a sleigh with magically flying reindeer to deliver the presents and goes down the chimney to put them under the Christmas tree. We leave out cookies and milk for him to take as a snack." Peppermint listened to the femme explain in total awe and amazement, unbelieving of what she was hearing, yet her youngling instincts told her it was true. Open Sea continued and Peppermint listened intently. "He is a jolly, fat old man with a hearty, happy laugh that comes deep from his ebullient heart."

"He wears a red suit trimmed in white, black boots and a cute little hat that matches his suit. He has a big white beard, red cheeks and a delightful smile. I'll show you a picture later." She promised then finished explaining. Peppermint gazed at the femme when the femme finished her explanation. "Let's do some decorating." Open Sea grinned. She nodded and then realized something. Tears swelled in her optics and she spoke with a quivering voice. "I don't have a present for you…"

Peppermint sniffled and the elder femme pulled her into a tight hug. "It's okay baby, you didn't know." The younger femme hiccupped as her chin was pulled up to gently make her look at the older femme. Open Sea had the brightest smile the younger femme had ever seen on the elder's lip plates and she suddenly felt a new sensation, the feeling of sisterly love. Open Sea's optics held gentleness and warmth in the same sisterly way. Peppermint brightened up and her tears dried as Open Sea spoke. "Come on little one, let's decorate and wrap some presents. I'll show you 'Breaker's present. I think you'll like it."

"I can't believe you sucked her into helping you decorate." Open Sea turned and looked at Glacierbreaker with a slight smile. "I did no such thing." She gasped in mock hurt. "I asked her and she said yes." The mech approached with a roll of his optics while the femme in question remained oblivious to the conversation, too concentrated on the task Open Sea had given her to notice. "You taught her carols too, huh?" Glacierbreaker remarked hearing the smaller femme humming _Frosty the Snowman_ followed by many other Christmas songs.

Open Sea nodded with a giggle. "Yes. I taught her what she needs, or may need, to know about Christmas. Even the fact you usually get coal in your stocking." The femme smirked at his somewhat irritated expression. "You're such a sparkling." He teased and she knew he was joking. He wore a comely, lopsided half-smirk that made his fay-like features even more handsome. He held that smirk only when he playfully teased the femme.

"I am still a youngling." She replied smartly. "In human I'd be about seventeen." She watched the good-looking mech roll his optics again. The pair looked up as a shadow passed over them. Open Sea smirked at Peppermint, who was standing on a ladder. She dangled a plant with leaves pointed at the edges and little red berries in the middle of the leaves. Her smirk deepened when she saw the mischief glinting in the younger femme's optics.

"Look 'Breaker, caught under the mistletoe with a femme." She commented calmly. Glacierbreaker's expression turned confused and she knew he frantically searched the internet to find the answer. His optics widened and his face twisted to panic as he found the answer. "No." He said firmly before she spoke. Open Sea could see him tense a little, as if he was trying to persuade himself he didn't want to. Excitement swelled in her spark at the chance to kiss the mech she had a crush on.

"Come on 'Breaker, it's just a kiss…" She whined, trying not to sound too desperate. Her optics watered with faux tears and she puffed out her lower lip, staring at him with a kicked puppy expression. She watched the mech stiffen up further and a mixture of emotions flood his optics. She added in a pitiful sniffle for good measure, not caring if she looked desperate. The ice blue mech melted. "Fine, but only one kiss." He sighed.

Open Sea squealed happily and hugged him tightly before she could stop herself, her tears drying instantly. She shivered softly when she felt the mech vent out warm air from his systems and it caressed her frame. She calmed when Glacierbreaker cupped her chin and pulled it up tenderly, she tried not to allow too much love to filter into her optics. He brought her lips to hers, pausing only for a second with their lips brushing, before he pressed their lips together fully and completed the delicate kiss. His lips were surprisingly tender, warm and soft, ironic in her thoughts.

Glacierbreaker pressed lightly and she responded with the same pressure. She believed he wanted to deepen the kiss but was unsure. A glimmer of hope came to her mind; maybe he liked her too… She didn't know why but she felt he was holding back in the kiss, as if he wanted to kiss her further. The femme relaxed into the kiss, leaning against his lean, strong frame. Her sparkbeat synchronized with his instantly and Glacierbreaker went ridged, obviously feeling it. She felt his intakes increase but the mech didn't pull away and instead, he relaxed as well. After what seemed as an eternity, the pair pulled away together.

Their optics locked and Open Sea was stunned to see Glacierbreaker's optics shining in affection and love. She was reluctant to pull away, startled by the lanky mech. She never considered the possibility of the mech reveling the time she spent with him. The sea green femme found Peppermint returned to her decorating seemingly enthralled in decorating. The younger femme would occasionally glance to her and continued her decorating.

Open Sea's gaze shifted back to Glacierbreaker and she stared at him nervously. "I need to go work on the generator." The mech said quickly. "Tomorrow is the first big freeze." The femme nodded. She could still feel her spark pounding from the kiss. "I'll help you." Glacierbreaker paused. "Okay. Peppermint can help too. I'll try to work on her doorwings afterwards. I know she still has bad balance…"

* * *

Smokescreen paced tirelessly in his quarters, visibly quivering in anxiety. Months passed painfully slow after Hope disappeared. Each one brought more suffering and he was unsure how much longer he could take the pain. It was just a few weeks before Christmas and he had gotten her a gift, not caring if Hope would never return. He couldn't bear to see her face if she appeared on Christmas and he didn't have a gift for her. The femme's present neatly wrapped and hidden in his closet.

His spark beat wildly in his distress of separation and his intakes matched. Since the young femme vanished, the little mech slowly lost his composure. Umbra fleeing the Autobots added to the grief and anguish. She was the only bot he could go to for support and without her; he had no one. He no longer recharged, refueled, his normal activities stopped after the femme left. He couldn't bring himself to enjoy life when he knew Hope could be suffering.

The mech pleaded with Optimus Prime and Ratchet to allow him to search for the little femme, with no success. Optimus told the younger mech he'd consider the option, but Ratchet had refused immediately. He continued to plead with Optimus to let him search and eventually, to his horror, the great leader declined. The younger mech retreated to his room and remained there, starving himself and restlessly pacing.

"For the love of Primus if you don't stop pacing I'll sedate you!" Smokescreen growled at the medic, who he hadn't notice entering. With his distraught musing broken, he struggled not to gaze at the ever-empty corner of the room Hope used to recharge. The blanket and all her toys he bought her remained untouched as moving them furthered his turmoil. His spark throbbed when he glanced one of the toys Umbra had bought the small femme, just another reminder of his isolation.

The medic sighed but Smokescreen ignored him. He could feel Ratchet's optics on him and it merely riled him further. "What do want?" He finally snapped his doorwings stiffening and flicking, a classic sign of annoyance. He continued his pacing as an uncomfortable pause engulfed the two while Ratchet chose his words carefully. "Optimus and I have found a _possible_ location on Hope. _Possible_."

The pacing stopped and he stared into the medic's calm optics. "Where is she Doc?" He rasped as his doorwings lowered slowly from the rush of emotions. He saw an annoyed expression pass over the medic's faceplates but the medic didn't point it out. "The location may not be correct, but Optimus and I have decided to inform you of her ipossible/i location, but on one condition." Smokescreen stiffened again and forced himself not to interrupt in protest. "You have to recharge for at least one night fully, about eight hours at the least, and ingest one cube of energon." The medic finished.

Smokescreen was somewhat relieved the condition wasn't worse. "Fine." He muttered, not having the will to fight the leader or Ratchet. Ratchet seemed to feel that. "Rest for the day, I'll bring you energon in the morning." He spoke compassionately. The young mech nodded as he left and though it was mid-afternoon, he collapsed onto his stone cold berth. His little use of it allowed the cold to soak to the very depths of it. Smokescreen didn't care though, his spark pounded in pain and he couldn't focus properly.

He had a chance to save the only bot he cared about in his world, and he was too stubborn to give up know. He didn't want to give in to Ratchet, but if it meant searching for Hope, he would recharge and refuel. He rolled to his side to allow his aching doorwings to relax and ease the pain in a normal position. He finally felt the pain, fear, stress and exhaustion overcome him and he offlined his optics weakly, not fighting the misery filled tears slicking down his cheeks. He sobbed himself to sleep quietly, not wanting the others to hear as he drifted off, engulf by stinging cold.


	11. Searching

_Hope(Peppermint), Open Sea, Glacierbreaker and any missed OCs are mine_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, any missed Canon characters (c) Hasbro_

_Feel free to read and review _

* * *

"Peppermint, wake up baby. Peppermint, it's time to wake up." The voice grew steadily louder as the little femme roused. She was having a pleasant dream and she didn't want to leave it. "Little one, wake up." The voice was louder but gentle, and Peppermint reluctantly onlined her optics. Her vision was blurred from recharge but with a few reboots, it cleared. Open Sea rested on her knees in front of her with a smile.

"Come on sweetspark, it's time to get up." The elder femme stroked her cheek tenderly. Peppermint yawned and tucked deeper into her blanket, unwilling to fully wake. "I don't want to." She fussed, letting her tired optics drift offline. Her steady intakes didn't mask the chuckle the older femme gave out. She was slipping into recharge once more, but squeaked sleepily as Open Sea pulled her into her arms.

With a deep intake the little femme nestled against Open Sea before expelling the air slowly in a content sigh. Cuddled against the elder femme's armour, the young femme felt protected and safe from the troubles of living in the Arctic. She was warm and happy in Open Sea's but she was unable to recharge. The young femme was fine with that though, as her systems were slowly onlining.

A tiny shiver passed through her frame as a blast of cold swept over the pair. Her optics fluttered online, wondering why the surroundings were suddenly so cold. She lifted her helm and looked around tiredly, her optics widening at the blanket of white as far as she could see, lit up by stadium lights. The first time she left the base, the morning was pleasant. A chilly breeze churned the white and the lights gave unnatural, but tender warmth. The two opposing forces resided in flawless equilibrium.

"It's so pretty…" She whispered softly. "It is 'Mint." Open Sea replied, gently setting the smaller femme on the snow. Peppermint yelped and clung to the elder femme, unsettled by the strange feeling of snow and ice beneath her pedes. She felt a soft chuckle vibrate through Open Sea's armour. "The snow won't hurt you." Open Sea reassured her, then backed off a few steps, wanting Peppermint to walk to her.

Peppermint wined softly in distress, glancing at the snow then at the older femme. Open Sea might have been only a few strides away but the distance was on unexplored terrain. Pulling together scraps of courage, Peppermint took a step forward. She squeaked when her pede sank into the shallow snow and the tiny ice crystals covered the very edge of her pede, while most packed beneath her weight, leaving a nifty little footprint. She nervously continued to walk forward, squeaking occasionally when her pede would sink into a deeper patch of snow.

She clung to Open Sea again when she came to her. Open Sea giggled and led the younger femme to Glacierbreaker, who was working on the generator. Peppermint sat cautiously in the snow on his side, while Open Sea settled on her knees on the opposing side of the mech, helping him with the generator. The ice blue mech's expression of full concentration made her comfortable made her weary of disrupting his work so she gazed off into the obsidian sky with a calm sigh. Gingerly, she lied on her back, eventually rolling to her side at the unnerving feeling of lying on her back. A tiny shiver passed through her and she slowly drifted into an unexpected recharge; the sudden excitement of the morning tiring her.

* * *

Glacierbreaker jerked away, falling into the snow at the sudden yawping from the femme to his left. A split second of fear jolted through him and he launched himself back to a sitting possession. The screaming femme subdued somewhat, but her tiny chest rose and fell in paniced gasping. She continued her writhing, churning up the shallow snow. "What's wrong with her?" Open Sea whimpered to his right. Tenderly, he cupped Peppermint's cheek with one hand in an attempt to calm the youngling. She only shrieked in terror and she clawed at him desperately.

"I think a memory is coming back as a nightmare." He replied. "I think you would be best at soothing her." He pulled away from the little femme and Open Sea took his place. Glacierbreaker watched quietly as the lithe femme rested a hand gently on the smaller femme's shoulder and settled once again on her knees. The light from above reflected off the snow and her light armour, enhancing the femme's features in an attractive way. Her slim hips appeared to broaden with the shadows playing in the low light and her possession, sitting halfway on her knees and leaning forward, covered most of her delectable thighs and smooth aft.

His optics wandered to her chestplates and he bit his lip to stop a soft grunt of excitement and longing from escaping his lips. The dull light caught the smooth metal of her chest in a way that made the extended armour plates appear larger. He shook his helm firmly, pulling his thoughts back into line and stopping himself from ogling the femme. She was a good looking femme but she wasn't for him. He was too antisocial, only a highly social bot could calm such a distressed femme. She needed more social interaction the he and Glacierbreaker hoped the femme would go with the Autobots when spring came. He would miss her but the hand built base was falling apart and he was collapsing with it. His pride didn't want Open Sea to see him fall apart.

"What's wrong?" Glacierbreaker snapped from his thoughts and locked optics with Open Sea. "I'm fine." He lied and she gave him a bright smile. She knew him well and it showed when she replied. "Good. You just thinking?" The femme had soothed the younger femme and was holding her close. "Yeah, have a lot on my mind. I looked on the radar this morning and found a huge storm is coming in." At least that part was the truth. "I need to finish the repairs." She gazed down at the femme and he glanced at her achingly, remembering the kiss they shared. He pictured them together as a couple, bonded until they passed but he knew it wouldn't happen. His secrets would probably prevent that.

* * *

"No, no you can't do that!" Smokescreen cried desperately. "I'm sorry Smokescreen, Optimus and I have decided. We need you here more than out searching." Ratchet said firmly, his attention on the giant computer screen. "But what about Hope?" Smokescreen pressed weakly, his intakes faster with his sparkbeat. The medic stopped his typing and turned to him slowly with a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry Smokescreen, but you have to accept the fact that she's probably dead. Her signal vanished long ago and it hasn't come back since."

Smokescreen's face fell and his doorwings drooped. He turned his helm away, tears swelling. "She can't be dead… she's not dead, I can feel it." "She probably is though, and we can't have you searching for her." Ratchet murmured. "I don't care!" Smokescreen cried, shaking his helm. "You can't just say I can search for her, only to pull back and say 'Just kidding, you can't! Oh and she's dead!'" He shook his helm again as tears streamed down his cheeks. "Smoke-" "Shut up!" He barked, not pausing as he darted to his room. "I'm sorry Hope…" He chocked, collapsing on his berth and shaking. "I'm so sorry…" He whispered and broke down into sobbing, eventually passing out.

He snapped awake around midnight, weak and feeling sick to his tanks from the heavy stress. He sat up slowly, rubbing the back of his neck tiredly. His thoughts wandered as he got off his berth and began pacing. He couldn't leave Hope to die, she was his baby. She was alive; he could feel it in his spark and he didn't want to abandon her. The little femme probably needed him now more than ever. He stopped pacing, a sudden idea coming into his CPU.

His stiff doorwings flicked as he turned and left. There was a chance Hope's last know coordinates were still on the computer, since it recorded everything that happened on the screen. If he could transfer them to the ground bridge, he had a chance to find her alive. Quietly, he made his way to Ratchet's computer. His hands quivered over the keys but he pushed back the fearfulness of being caught and started typing on the keyboard, relieved to find Ratchet hadn't put a password on the computer.

He brought up the signal map from so many weeks ago, the night before Hope disappeared. He was surprised to see the recording was still there, but Ratchet was Ratchet and he kept everything. He played the video, watching intently as an unknown signal popped up and Hope's signal moved very quickly. The blinking pinpoints stopped in a northern part of the earth, and Hope's signal disappeared. He was surprised at the speed of the dots movement and where they went, but he managed to stop the recording and snag the coordinates in time.

Quickly, he walked to the ground bridge and plugged in the coordinates. His spark pounded heavily in his chest because he heard someone approaching He was breaking orders by doing this but he didn't care. Hope was out there and he was going to find her, no matter the cost. He jerked the lever down and fled into the swirling green vortex as soon as it opened. He felt face first into a mountain of snow while the freezing gales masked the sound of the ground bridge closing. Slowly, Smokescreen stood and brushed himself off. He stared across the open blanket of white lit by his headlights and readied himself for a long trek into the dark to find Hope.


	12. Christmas Morning

_Hope(Peppermint), Open Sea, Glacierbreaker and any missed OCs are mine_

_Transformers (c) Hasbro_

_Feel free to read and review _

* * *

Peppermint awoke excitedly and scrambled out of her berth. "'Sea, 'Sea, wake up! It's Christmas!" She squealed and shook the elder femme's shoulder. Open Sea snapped awake with a confused expression that turned to a smile. "Merry Christmas." Peppermint giggled and replied with the same thing. She darted to Glacierbreaker's room and stopped. The massive mech was snoring softly and despite being in a deep recharge, looked exhausted. The little femme approached slowly and roused him with less enthusiasm then she had Open Sea. He deserved a gentler approach because he pulled an all-nighter to make sure the generator didn't go down in the storm.

"I'm up." The mech mumbled, sitting up with a groggy yawn. Peppermint smiled and watched him stand, then led him to the 'Christmas' room. Open Sea greeted them cheerfully, but Glacierbreaker acted a bit crankily. "I'm going to get some energon before we open presents." Open Sea and Peppermint were surprised as he left the room, but waited patiently. He returned after a few minutes and he seemed to be in better spirits. His optics were brighter and his face no longer pale. The boost of energy did wonders for the mech and he reluctantly took the Santa hat Open Sea made for him, rumbling, "Merry Christmas."

Peppermint put her own on with a giggle, and a tremble from the growing excitement. They sat semicircular by the tree with Glacierbreaker closer than the two femmes. Open Sea sat to his right and Peppermint to her right. She pointed out the empty 'milk' glass and missing 'cookies' with a happy whisper to Open Sea and received a smile from the older femme. "Looks like the present is for Peppermint." Glacierbreaker spoke quickly, breaking their conversation. "From 'Sea." He plucked the carefully wrapped present from the surprisingly small stack and handed her the package.

Peppermint took the package eagerly but opened the paper without being rushed. Her optics widened as she pulled the colourful paper off and spread out the snow white blanket in front of her. "Thank you 'Sea!" She squealed happily, pulling the soft fabric to her and rubbing her cheek against the luscious surface. "You're very welcome." Open Sea replied and kissed her helm, avoiding the still tender crack on it. "Watch this." The older femme took the colourful paper and placed a corner of the blanket on the paper. Within a few seconds, the blanket's colour changed to match the paper. "It will match almost any surroundings." Open Sea told her and she nodded.

Glacierbreaker smiled softly at the femme's excitement and took the next present. "To 'Sea from me." He spoke breaking the femme's bonding moment again. Open Seatook the rectangular shaped box that was wrapped a little sloppily. The elder femme opened it and her optics widened. She thanked him with a hug while Peppermint peeked over her blanket to the rectangular object. What was so special about a 'scrapbook'? The young femme shrugged inwardly, patiently waiting for Glacierbreaker to open his present.

The pair broke from their hug and Glacierbreaker took the next present, leaving only two more. She frowned lightly, doing the math in her helm she knew one bot wouldn't get a present, but who? The little femme was distracted by Glacierbreaker opening his present. "'Sea, how did you?" He breathed and looked up the sea green femme. "I got it from a friend on Cybertron." Open Sea smiled. "I know you were needing a new welder so I figured why not?"

The mech smiled and hugged her briefly. He moved his present to the side and took another present. "To Open Sea, from Santa." Peppermint watched excitedly as Open Sea unwrapped it, surprised to find the present only a container filled with something, and she didn't attempt to find out what the container held. Glacierbreaker took the next present. "To Peppermint, from Santa." He handed her the thin present.

She tore open the paper and smiled happily at the datapad. She turned the datapad on and flicked through the numerous stories and books. The titles of several stories caused memories to surface, but before she could actually remember them, they floated back down. She thanked Santa in her mind and paused. "Glacierbreaker didn't get a second present." She pointed out. Open Sea paused in her cleaning. "You're right Minty, but Santa gave me a special present to give to him." She disappeared into her room and while they waited, Peppermint helped Glacierbreaker clean up.

Open Sea returned with a heavy looking box, wrapped nicely in a simple, red paper. Glacierbreaker relieved the box from her and placed it on the floor with a grunt. He opened it and the femme and mech were surprised to see it filled with supplies. "Santa must really know me." Peppermint giggled. "Of course he does." Glacierbreaker chuckled. "I might be able to make you some new doorwings." The comment made the young femme beam.


	13. Escape

_Hope(Peppermint), Open Sea, Glacierbreaker and any missed OCs are mine_

_Decepticons, Transformers (c) Hasbro_

_Feel free to read and review _

* * *

Peppermint woke from her happy recharge and stretch with a soft yawn. A tiny shiver passed over her thin frame, which was unusual. Her room was normally warm, but now she couldn't shake the cold that sank deep into her body. She shivered again and squirmed off her berth, then crawled into Open Sea's. The elder femme stirred and held her close. "What's wrong baby?" Open Sea murmured sleepily. "I'm cold." The younger femme fussed and curled closer to Open Sea. "Okay little one, go to sleep and I'll wake you up in a bit. The generator probably froze over and 'Breaker's probably fixing it now." The older femme's explanation soothed Peppermint and she snuggled closer, drifting off.

She snapped awake just a few minutes later, feeling Open Sea shake in terror. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, only to have the older femme hush her gently. "Sh little one, 'Breaker said there are Decepticons in the base. For an unknown reason, the word 'Decepticon' roused a deep seeded fear in her spark. She didn't know who or what they were, but she knew it was bad. Open Sea held her gently and both femmes quivered, remaining silent in fear. Hope stiffened, hearing footsteps approaching and Open Sea did as well.

Both femmes relaxed when Glacierbreaker stumbled in, panting heavily and holding his side. "Get up." He whispered, glancing nervously down the hallway. The femmes scrambled off the berth and darted from the room, with Glacierbreaker tailing them and giving directions to escape the base and the Decepticons. Peppermint stopped suddenly, realizing she hadn't grabbed her blanket. "Minty, what's wrong?" Open Sea whispered, barely stopping to ask. "I left my blanket…" She whimpered. Open Sea's optics softened. "Sweetspark…"

Glacierbreaker stopped and looked back at her distressed. "Stay here, I'll get it." With that, he bolted. Open Sea stopped fully and pulled Peppermint close. The pair remained clinging to one another to keep warm in the few minutes Glacierbreaker was gone. They broke apart and ran when the mech roared at them to, with the mech following. He gasped and panted as he sprinted towards them, dodging most of the lazor fire that came from the pursuing Decepticons. He caught up and continued to direct them. "Straight ahead and we'll be able to hide in the storm."

The femmes did as he told, dodging lazor-fire and rushing straight through the doors after passing an intersection. Peppermint squealed as she left the dark base and was overcome by freezing winds and even inkier blackness. Glacierbreaker scooped her up, wrapping her in the blanket at the same time and charged into the blizzard's howling gales with Open Sea at his side. The young femme peeked over the mech's shoulder and calmed when she saw Open Sea following. She snuggled against Glacierbreaker's chest to keep warm and protect herself from the dwindling lazorfire and harsh wind. The only light the trio had was provided by their optics, which was very dim.

The somewhat steady gate of Glacierbreaker eased the fear she had of the Decepticons, but disappearing into the blizzard raised further fears. They might have escaped the Decepticons but the continually dropping temperature could easily kill them and Peppermint was the only one that had a blanket. Glacierbreaker slowed from a sprint, to a light jog and eventually to a swift walk with a heavy limp. Peppermint could feel his limp along with a weak shiver that passed through him and Open Sea voiced her concern. "'Breaker, what's wrong? Why are you limping?" Open Sea had to yell to be heard over the wind. "I'm fine." Glacierbreaker barked back, grunting with every step.

"'Breaker, you're hurt." Peppermint whimpered into his audio. The mech glanced down at her with an amused expression. "I know little one, but we need to keep moving. I can't stop because I'm hurt." He answered. Peppermint fell quiet and Open Sea took her from the mech rather forcefully. "How did they get in?" Open Sea asked and he shook his helm. "I don't know exactly, but they destroyed a wall along with the generator." A pause then, "They might have been after the energon. They were raiding the storage." Open Sea nodded. The young femme snuggled close to her and watched Glacierbreaker limp alone while the trio quietly trudged through the snow, leaving the base to the Cons.

* * *

Of course, when Smokescreen became accustomed to trekking through knee deep snow, a blizzard blew through. Cursing under his breath, he kept his doorwings close to his body for warmth and hugged himself, shivering against the deafening wind. He glanced behind him, only to watch his tracks vanish from the massive amount of snow falling. He groaned inwardly and continued on, tiny shivers passing through him while little white puffs of his cycles were whisked away. His doorwings flicked periodically to release a buildup of snow and to prevent cramping. This place was uncomfortable and cold but he didn't care. He wasn't going to give up his chance to save his sparkling.


	14. Crossings

_Hope(Peppermint), Open Sea, Glacierbreaker and any missed OCs are mine_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, any missed Canon characters (c) Hasbro_

_Feel free to read and review _

* * *

Peppermint watched the water lap at the edge of the ice with the soft melancholy that associated with almost every body of water. She glanced up at Glacierbreaker who gazed across the shimmering water but he didn't notice. His wounded leg patched and he could almost walk without a limp. Open Sea sat beside her, gazing across the expanse of water towards the other side of the ice that Peppermint had to squint to see.

"I think the easiest route would be to swim." Glacierbreaker muttered. The femmes heard him well as the blizzard passed a day or two before and the region was relatively peaceful and quiet. "Do you think you'd be able to make the journeys 'Breaker?" Open Sea inquired. "I should be able to." He replied, ready to get to work. "Let me see your blanket so it doesn't get wet." He spoke to Peppermint, turning to her.

The little femme nodded and handed him the fluffy blanket somewhat reluctantly. He folded the fabric neatly and put it in his subspace. "I'll go in first little one; then you can jump to me okay?" Peppermint nodded and helped lower him into the water. After he entered the water he turned to Open Sea. "I'll swim back if you can't find a way across." Open Sea nodded and Peppermint hesitated at the edge of the ice. Glacierbreaker held out his hand for her, keeping a hand on the ice.

"Come on little one, you can do it." He cooed reassuringly. "I'm going to help you in and you can ride on my back okay?" The little femme paused but nodded and lowered into the water with Open Sea's help. She squeaked as her frame dipped into the icy water and she clung to Glacierbreaker. The mech helped her onto his back and the femme buried her face into his back, shivering. "Have you decided 'Sea?" Glacierbreaker asked, gazing at her pleadingly.

"I can't swim 'Breaker, you know that; I'd freeze and sink like a stone. I didn't have time to apply the water-proofer so my armour's no longer waterproof." She murmured. "I'll try to find a way on the ice as we discussed and find you guys again." She gazed down at them with tears. "I'll see you two again, okay? Go 'Breaker, Minty's getting cold." Peppermint gave a whimper of goodbye while Glacierbreaker gave her a sparkbroken gaze, but pushed off from the thick ice. The little femme held onto the mech as he swam to the opposing shore sullenly.

Peppermint entertained herself by watching the little puffs of white that showed her regular intakes. When she became bored, she watched the waves lap at her armour. She was surprised when Glacierbreaker paused his swimming, bobbing in the ebony water. "Come to my chest." He murmured and helped her to the front of him, a bit nervous of how he was going to swim. She relaxed when he floated on his back and began a tired backstroke. Several times he shifted Peppermint from clinging to his back to curling against his chest. They reached their destination and Glacierbreaker helped her onto the sheet of ice.

Glacierbreaker held tight to the ice and glanced back to the shore where Open Sea still stood. "Are you going the long way?" He called, sounding worried. "I don't think there's a meeting of the floes close by." The older femme called back after a few moments of silence. "But I can't swim to you…" Peppermint examined Glacierbreaker's expressions change from nervous to fear. "Stay there, I'll swim back and help you!" Quickly, he hauled himself onto the ice floe and wrapped her up in the blanket.

"Stay here, I'll be back in a little while." He ordered and dove into the freezing water. Peppermint happily snuggled under her blanket and watched the bright blue mech swim back to Open Sea. She had to squint to see him reach the other side. He jumped out and the pair spoke, or it seemed as if they were speaking. Several minutes passed and she could barely see Glacierbreaker attempting to coax Open Sea into the water.

The femme didn't move as Glacierbreaker entered the water then pulled himself back out, discussing something with Open Sea. They stopped and even Peppermint tensed when the roar of jet engines echoed through the barren land. Peppermint blinked and the pair was suddenly surrounded by Decepticon drones with a sound Peppermint thought she recognized. Peppermint watched helplessly as Glacierbreaker stepped in front of Open Sea despite being outnumbered, but at that point, Peppermint covered her helm with her blanket.

The snow white fabric camouflaged the young femme, making her appear to be just another snow pile as she shook in fear. She bit her lip hard when she heard Open Sea scream but she couldn't bring herself to look. The sound of transformation echoed over the ice, followed by jet engines fading and a sound she didn't recognize. Complete silence followed and Peppermint peeked from her blanket after several minutes. She emitted a distressed keen when she saw the empty ice and began crying, sobbing heavily until she blacked out from exhaustion.

* * *

Several days passed since the ending of the blizzard Smokescreen entered and he was quite happy about it. He worried about the others finding him before he found Hope, but he promised himself he wouldn't allow them to take him. He came this far and he was not going to leave her. Shaking a large amount of accursed snow from his doorwings, Smokescreen stood straight, staring off into the expanse of white. The never ending field of the same colour made him realize finding Hope would be harder than he thought.

He didn't care though; he was determined to find her and wasn't going to stop. He stretched slightly and resumed his adventure. His footfalls fell into a rhythmic crunch of the snow and the weak breeze made him shiver softly. Other than the breeze the day was peaceful; but he could feel another blizzard brewing with his doorwings and he needed to hurry to find Hope. Smokescreen continued on, wishing his white armour didn't reflect so much heat.

He was warm enough though, knowing the sun would not return for several months. The never ending night of the Arctic winter made finding Hope incredibly difficult. He desperately hoped to find her and he worried about not finding her. He shook his helm, clearing his mind of those thoughts. He knew he was going to find her, he could feel it in his aching spark. Dead or alive, he would find her. He trudged on, starting to feel the stress of being without Hope. Ratchet told him his spark created some sort of parental bond with the younger bot's spark and the little femme's spark had accepted. The separation brought him stress and worry when he wasn't with her.

Their bond was one of the reasons he wished to rescue her but a major reason was she understood him and enjoyed being around him. The others disliked him, considering him to be a nuisance and annoying. He was too arrogant for them. He knew it and he was honestly trying to change but his actions were looked down upon, especially Arcee. She was always glaring at him disapprovingly, and when he did ask for advice, they ignored him. He attempted to keep his teammates from bothering him but it discouraged him when he had no bot for support, except Hope.

The shy little femme followed him as if she were a turbopuppy and always knew what to say when he was disheartened. She wasn't talkative but she never spoke to him angrily. When she spoke to him, she spoke excitedly, wondering what they would be doing that day. The little femme was his only confidant and, with a pause, he realized, his only friend. He wiped away his tears with a shudder. His spark throbbed at the realization. All he wanted was to be accepted and Hope seemed to be the only one that realized his want, maybe because she wanted the same thing. The sharp little bot was different than him, with a personality that allowed her to be well liked and he didn't. If he couldn't find Hope, he would lose his only friend.

With a strangled cry, he collapsed into the snow, and flopped to his side. He emitted distressed cries, digging his fingers into the powdery snow, grateful no one could hear him. He spent his life trying to belong, but he never fit in anywhere. Staring at the black sky, he allowed himself to weep, trying to figure out why no one liked him. Lying alone in the snow, Smokescreen vaguely realized how far he traveled in the day, but not really caring about it. Exhaustion took hold and he offlined his optics. He fell into a deep blackness with the same question repeating in his mind. Why didn't he fit in?


	15. Plunge

_Hope(Peppermint), Open Sea, Glacierbreaker and any missed OCs are mine_

_Smokescreen, any missed Canon characters (c) Hasbro_

_Feel free to read and review _

* * *

Peppermint really hated her dreams now. They weren't nightmares, but they confused her. She was having a reoccurring dream of a white mech, with a small amount of blue and red, smiling down at her with a loving expression. The dream wasn't malicious but she had no idea who the mech was and it frustrated her. She guessed it might have been a memory from her past but she couldn't connect the memory with anything yet. Shaking her helm, she stood aching; she had more pressing problems to attend to. Nearly a week passed since Open Sea and Glacierbreaker were abducted and she left the ice floe's edge, only to find she was alone on the ice.

She was tired, starving and wandered every day, not knowing what to do. She was lonely and desperately needed guidance she knew she wouldn't receive. With a drained sigh, she began walking to continue her journey. She guessed she was heading south but she had no reference points to really make sure. She didn't know why she was heading south, but her instincts told her to do so. A shiver ran through her as a cold blast washed over her. The blizzard was coming in, she could feel it and this one was going to be larger and fiercer.

She wanted to groan in defeat but she kept moving. She knew it would be risky to wait until the last second to make a snow shelter but she didn't care. Her instincts were telling her to move and she was moving. The wind picked up, causing a white out before her and she became wary. She nervously pulled her blanket tighter to herself and strained to see any signs of thin ice. She was grateful the Glacierbreaker had taught her how to look for thin ice.

It saved her life already, as a few days ago she nearly went through a patch but the polar bear she traveled with wasn't so lucky. She soon found herself a little lost. Her tracks had disappeared with the white out and she didn't know where to go. She stopped and looked around desperately, finding herself surrounded by a swirling mass of snow. The temperature had yet to drop but the blizzard crept up on her, as a predator would prey.

* * *

Smokescreen felt as if he was walking in circles, which was a high possibility as visibility was poor. He could barely see his hand in front of his face, much less several feet in front of him. The blizzard swept in without warning and scrambled his directions. He stopped and looked for and shelter, but of course there was no shelter in sight. His optics caught a glimpse of a fleeting figure, but it disappeared in the swirling snow. He figured his mind was simply playing tricks on him so he ignored it.

His optics scanned purposefully and once again, he caught a figure just out of clear visibility. With a second sighting he considered the possibility the figure was actually real. Taking a chance, he approached the evanescent figure's movement and caught up somewhat, able to see more detail. "Hope!" He screamed over the fierce wind. He knew that blue! For a short sparkbeat he worried she hadn't heard him, but she stopped, turning wearily. Her glowing mint green optics widened and she backed up. "Easy Hope. I'm not going to hurt you." He tried to soothe her, easing towards her with arms visible and doorwings low to show he meant no harm.

The femme continued to backtrack though and he continued forward continuously. "What's wrong Hope?" Why did she seem so scared? They were best friends. Did she not remember him? Both stopped, stiffening as the ice below groaned and snapped. Neither knew if it was the ice beneath them and both backed up with bated breath. In a sparkbeat, Hope was gone with a scream that vanished in the wind as a chunk of ice caved beneath her, pitching her into the ocean. Without thinking, he dove in after her, the shock of entering such cold water making him inhale a cycle of salt water.

He held it in his protesting systems to avoid making it worse as he struggled in the water. He barely managed to grab Hope's hand as she sank and pull her to him rather roughly. Panic truly set in as he fought his way to the surface, coughing and gagging up the disgusting water and floundered to get back onto the ice that continued to snap beneath his grip. All through his fight, Hope thrashed and gave him surprisingly strong kicks to the abdomen and lower region.

With a roar of effort he finally managed to catch ice that didn't give way and shove Hope onto the ice floe, hauling himself up directly after. He shook and coughed weakly, intake systems burning from the salt and drained from exertion. The femme hung onto the edge with a look of sheer desperation as she reached out for something just out of reach. Peering quickly into the choppy water, he saw a white chunk of fabric barely floating on the surface.

An inward groan, Smokescreen gripped the femme at the waist and jerked her back rather forcefully. He dove back in, unable to grab the blanket from the ice, snagging the piece of scrap and drug himself back onto the ice. He handed it back to the femme, only to have her snatch it away. She wrung out the blanket, pulled it back over her shoulders and scrambled away from him, quivering from more than just cold.

Panting exhaustedly, he followed her instinctively, crawling on his hands and knees as she did. They crawled for what seemed like eternity, eventually crawling onto thicker ice. He didn't know how he could tell but he could just feel the ice was thicker under his hands. Still, the little femme didn't stop until they hit a spot that felt as if it was a little chunk of frozen land. Only then, did the femme stop and begin digging and packing down snow.

Monkey saw so monkey did and Smokescreen copied her every action, digging, packing the snow and making a packed down pile with snow he pulled from digging. He stopped a while after she did, having started after her, making a good sized hole to curl up in. He was freezing and the temperature was plunging swiftly, adding more stress to his worn out body. Forcing his doorwings closer to himself to trap the heat coming off them to himself, he huddled in his hole, realizing survival was going to be difficult.


	16. Absolute Zero

_AN: Hope(Peppermint) and any other Ocs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Optimus, Ratchet any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

A few hours after dropping into the water, Peppermint peered over her bunk-hole wall towards the mech's, startled to see him shaking viciously as if her was seizing. She knew the mech was cold and she actually felt bad for him. He saved her life only to have her kick the scrap out of him. She was scared when he grabbed her though, and she had a feeling the mech would understand once explained.

Still, she felt bad and seeing him shaking as he was made her spark ache weakly. She crawled from her hole with her dry blanket over her shoulders and struggled against the wind to his hole. She squeezed into his dug out, wiggling between his doorwings to help trap their body heat. The appendages were allowing his precious body heat to escape; she could easily gusts of white coming from his doorwings as the heat met the cold air.

She was shocked to find ice forming on his light coloured armour and the discovery caused her to tuck closer to the mech, covering the doorwing she wasn't lying on and a bit of his body. The action made him lurch back into consciousness as his body temperature increased slightly. "Th-thanks…" His words stumbled from his vocalizer and were followed by vents that were just as shaky. He glanced back at her but she didn't see his face.

"Welcome." She replied gruffly. She crawled to him because she felt bad for him, not to warm up but the warmth helped her stay. She was warm enough in her hole and would easily survive the blizzard, but the mech looked so pitiful. Snuggled between his doorwings and curled against his back, she let her mind wander. This mech had an air of familiarity to him but she couldn't place why. He called her by a different name and she thought of the possibility that the name was her real name, but she didn't think too hard about it.

She couldn't remember him but she couldn't bring herself to let the mech freeze. Her optics felt heavy and she recognized her exhaustion. Comforted by the mech's warmth, she allowed herself to doze, not falling into a full recharge but allowing her body to rest. Falling into a deep recharge was suicide in the Arctic, yet another lesson taught by Glacierbreaker. She twitched awake, no longer feeling the mech shaking.

Her spark stopped. Severe shivering stopped only two ways, the first of which was not good. His body temperature might have dropped too low for the shivering to help and his body gave up wasting the energy. There was a possibility however, that his body temperature rose enough to render the shaking unnecessary. Feeling and seeing slick ice on his armour made the first option more likely.

Skittishly, she felt for his sparkbeat above his sparkchamber, finding it slow and drawn out. His intakes came shallowly and with a certain strain to them. She was grateful he dove back into the water to retrieve the blanket Open Sea gave her, but the second dip, with the temperature approaching what felt like absolute zero, may have sealed his fate. With all the strength she could muster, she pushed him to a sitting position and used her blanket to hold his doorwings to his back, once again trying to keep his body heat from escaping. She scrambled out of the hole, shuddering at the freezing wind and hauled the mech into the hole she made.

Her hole held heat more productively than his but considering it was probably his first time to make a snow-hole, the hole was well built. It was still sloppy and allowed heat to escape, reminding her of the first she made. Of course, with practice, she became better. Wedging the mech inside first, she shifted his so she could squeeze in as well, but before she entered, she created a makeshift roof that would trap more body heat. Making the roof only took a few minutes but she still shook from cold when she squeezed in with him.


	17. Broken Nostalgia

_AN: Hope and any other Ocs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Optimus, Ratchet any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_The story is "Stone Soup" (c) The respective aurthor_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Smokescreen stirred lazily, not really wanting to wake. His systems were pulling out of the deep stasis he had been in though, so he was forced to wake. His optics fluttered online, noticing Hope made their hidey-hole larger, deeper and sealed them from the raging blizzard with a roof. Now able to sit up, he did so carefully allowing his weak systems to recalibrate to being online once more. He was sure the frigid temperatures downed him in the first place, and he could still feel the cold deep within his systems.

Hope tying his doorwings to his back and dragging him to her hole was about all he remembered before his unconsciousness. He was unaccustomed to lying for so long and his body ached so he stretched lightly to relieve the pain from his cramping frame. He shook himself to get his energon flowing and examined the hole once more quietly, so he would wake Hope is she was still sleeping. He found her on the opposite side of the hole curled up in a tight ball with her back to him. With a sickening recognition he realized her doorwings were missing.

He didn't know how he missed it before, figuring her father ripped off the sensitive appendages. A tiny shiver passed through him and his spark ached. He crawled to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She woke instantly and scrambled away with a squeal. She huddled against the snow wall, trembling and staring at him in terror. His spark throbbed and he forced himself to back off from the little femme. "Hope, do you not remember?" He whispered. She continued to shake and stare at him as he struggled to come up with some reason as to why she didn't remember. He recalled her doorwings.

"Hope, did Libel hurt you?" He asked. The little femme remained silent, her mint green optics wide in fear. He sighed and stared at a blank wall. In his peripheral he saw Hope slink away from him, trying to get as far away from him as she could. His spark sank. She didn't remember him and it made his spark hurt. He retreated to where he was previously, allowing the skittish femme to have as much space as she wished. Tears began trickling down his face in his despair. He found his sparkling, but he hadn't found _Hope_. The Hope he knew was gone, possibly forever.

He thought of the dream he had of finding her. He walked in ankle deep snow and she stood before him. He called to her and she turned instantly. Her optics widened and she bolted to him. They hugged for several minutes until Hope pulled away. She would then look up at him and smile up at her with the brightest smile he had ever seen. Now when he gazed into her optics all he saw was panic. He hated the feeling of bringing fear to her. He was supposed to protect her and he failed. Her father stole her, beat her and he hadn't prevented it from happening. He was a horrible father. He broke his promise and allowed her to be harmed. After untying the blanket and tossing it to the middle of the hole, he curled up in the snow with his back to her.

Tears ran swiftly down his cheeks. He could no longer bring himself to look at her and see her fear. His fuel tanks twisted when he realized Hope would probably never remember again. His shoulders shuddered as he fought back a sob and he allowed his body to shut down, just to pass time. Smokescreen's optics onlined slowly as he woke and he lifted his helm. Hope was in her usual spot across the hole under the blanket she used to keep his doorwings close. He heaved a distressed sigh and twitched his doorwings. Every day for month or so they were trapped in the hole to hide from the blizzard, Hope would freak when he would look at her and she would react negatively every time.

He had taken several snowballs to the face and his spark was beginning to beat irregularly from the stress he felt. With the parental bond between them torn, he continually felt his spark attempting to reform the bond but every time it failed. Smokescreen missed the old Hope, her smile, her personality, her laugh, everything he remembered about her brought searing pain to his chest. He lost everything and he didn't know how to get her back. He remembered the present he had hidden in his closet and he trembled. The old Hope would have loved it. He sat up and leaned against a snow wall.

He refused to look at Hope in an attempt to begin distancing himself. It wasn't working well, the crack forming in his spark proof. He rested his cheek against the soft snow, attempting to come up with a way to jog her memory, as he did every day with no success. He thought for a long while and finally he had an idea that might work. _"A young man was walking. He walked and he walked. He walked all night. And he walked all day. He was tired. And he was hungry." _He began her favorite story, knowing every word by memory after reading it repeatedly.


	18. Recovered

_AN: Hope(Peppermint) and any other Ocs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Optimus, Ratchet any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Peppermint's optics widened as memory surfaced with the story he told. _She and the mech were cuddled together on a berth with a datapad in front of them. The mech held her close tenderly with one arm as she used the other as a pillow. She turned the 'pages' of the story and read along as he read aloud._ She locked optics with the mech and he paused in speaking the story, seeing her confusion. "Do you remember?" He asked, and she saw a fleeting glimpse of hope in his optics. "Y-yeah." She squeaked. "A little. You would read that story to me."

The mech nodded with tears in his optics. "Yeah, every day and multiple times a day. You loved that story." His tears were overflowing. Peppermint fell quiet and stared at the floor, confounded. To get a memory back felt amazing but she wasn't getting enough to have everything she did remember make sense. "Who, who are you?" She asked hesitantly. She was scared he was a Decepticon and would hurt her but he showed no aggression. "I was your caretaker." He smiled weakly. "No, what's your name?" She spoke firmly.

He looked taken aback. "Smokescreen. My name is Smokescreen." Her optics offlined as another memory surfaced. _Huddled against him in pain from a fresh beating, she came to know him that way. _"Hope, are you okay?" Her optics onlined and met his worried expression. _Lying on the berth, telling a story and gaining a new name. _The name he used. Peppermint emitted a strained groan and clutched her helm. It felt as if it was splitting open. Never had so many memories surfaced at once. "Is, is my real name Hope?" She whispered. "Yes, it is, little one." He smiled.

Hope stiffened when he brought her into a hug and kissed the top of her helm. She went limp against him almost immediately, remembering the countless hours she spent in his protective arms. She offlined her optics and leaned her helm against his chest, listening to the thrumming of his spark, a sound she fell into recharge dozens of times. With her memories of him, she felt an instant trust to him. Her spark reached out through the empty feeling she had since she woke in Open Sea's arms.

It was an odd sensation that she couldn't trace the roots of in her memory, but she felt as if she needed to reach though it. Hope recalled suddenly what Smokescreen's spark felt like and his spark reached back. The father-daughter bond between the pair rekindled as Hope realized the empty feeling came from their torn bond. She felt a surge of happiness spread through her mended spark. "I-I missed you…" Hope whispered softly. She told the truth though she realized missing him created a different ache she felt along with the bond emptiness.

"I missed you too." Smokescreen whispered back. "I was so terrified I would never find you and when you didn't remember me, it hurt so much." Hope pulled back and wiped away his tears. "I'm here now." She pointed out and kissed his cheek, giggling at the soft red tint that came to his cheeks. She leaned once against his broad chest and cried into his chest. Smokescreen held her close, nuzzling her again and again, kissing the top of her helm tenderly. Both Cybertronians felt the same titillation of being reunited after such a long separation.

Smokescreen took in a deep breath and released it in a shaky sigh after several minutes. "Hope, when we get back, I may not be able to see you for a little." The young femme stared up at him surprised. "Why?" A slight pause. "I broke orders to come here. I opened a ground bridge and snuck out." Hope paused, a mixture of worry and anger bubbling up in her spark. Confusion was also there as she could not recall what a ground bridge was. "Why didn't you just ask…" She stopped, realizing she couldn't recall any other member of the team besides Smokescreen, but she forced herself to ignore it and simply rephrased the question. "Couldn't you have asked to leave?"

"I did, and Optimus and Ratchet thought about it. They told me I could, but then they revoked their statement and ordered me not to search for you." He explained. "I tried to respect their orders, but being away from you was hurting me." Hope's gazed softened and squeezed him lovingly. She rubbed circles on the armour covering his spark and he gave a relieved sigh. He hurt and Hope could feel it through their paternal bond. He was overly worried and stressing. Hope patted his cheek. "You're okay, I'm here, and you can talk to me anytime." She told him remembering she was his confidant.

He smiled softly. "Thanks, I just don't know how badly Optimus will punish me." The second use of the strange name brought an image of the red and blue mech standing proudly and leading his family of troops. Hope blinked, hating when her memories just floated to the surface as it made her helm throb. Why couldn't they remain dreams? "I'm sure he won't be hard on you." Hope murmured reassuringly. Smokescreen gave a weak smile. "I'm not sure about that. I've been on his bad side since I've arrived here." Hope nuzzled him. "Maybe he'll go easy on you this time, after all you risked your life to save me."

Smokescreen shrugged weakly. "It's not the first time I've risked my life and I think he's tired of it." He muttered pessimistically. Hope pressed her cheek against his chest in an attempt to soothe him. His chin rested tenderly on her helm, away from the scar. "You're my only friend, you realized that right?" He whispered. "You're the only bot that makes me feel as if I belong and I'm not a completely worthless…" Hope stopped him by pulling away and placing a hand on his chest armour. She spoke from the depths of her spark.

"Smokescreen, you are worth something. You're a great fighter, a great problem solver and a great father. Furthermore, from what I recall of Optimus, if he truly considered you worthless, he would _not_ have allowed you to join the team from the beginning. He sees potential in you, I know he does and so do I." The mech looked away considering this. He eventually gave her a soft smile with his adorable kicked puppy face. "Thank you Hope, you allways know what to say…" Hope smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her helm on his shoulder. "Whatever happens, Smokescreen, I promise I'll be there for you."


	19. Busy Day

_AN: Hope, Umbra and any other Ocs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Optimus, Ratchet any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope rubbed her temples aggravatingly, attempting to nap but the image of a femme continually appeared. She knew they were memories as her helm felt as if it was splitting open. "Daddy…" She whined rather childishly, figuring Smokescreen could help her out. The mech popped awake from his nap, his facial features blank in surprise but it melted into a warm smile. "Yeah baby?" He asked, stretching as he sat up. "Did you know…" She paused, thinking.

An image of a white and light grey femme appeared again. "A white femme with light grey armour? She had blue, no a bright blue almost…" She offlined her optics and her face contorted in pain as the helmache worsened. Her focus broke and the pain eased when she felt Smokescreen rubbing her temples for her. "Yeah, I knew her…" He sounded distracted. "What was her name?" Hope asked, leaning into the massaging circles. There was a long pause. "Her name was Umbra. You loved her and she adored you." His voice was thick in grief.

"What happened?" She pressed. She was on the edge of more knowledge about her past. "She left. Bots were treating her badly and she fled the base in desperation." It took a bit for her to absorb and process the information. She jolted with a groan, her optics flashing online and popping in pain. Countless memories of the motherly femme flooded her CPU at once, causing an unpredicted agony. Her vents quickened and thinned to swift wheezing, and her frame locked up, quaking as if she was freezing.

Her optics fluttered violently as memories bombarded her young mind. _Umbra at her side when she received her name, the feeling the older bot was her mother. Watching bots tease Umbra and stepping in to defend her, only to be slapped and many more memories hit her, too many to process fully. _"Hope, sweetspark!" Smokescreen's terrified cry broke the continuous stream and gave her something physical to hang onto. Her optics locked with his suddenly and her venting turned to slower panting.

"Keep it up Hope. Come on sweetspark, just a bit more…" She emitted strangled sounds and groaned weakly. Smokescreen laid her on her back, tenderly holding her helm with one hand and caressing her cheek with the other. Her frame remained locked, her vents remained fast paced pants, and her optics were wide, but slowly her body relaxed. Within the next few minutes, her body unwound until she was completely limp. Her mint green optics offlined and she panted softly, much slower than before.

She recovered sluggishly; listening to Smokescreen and feeling his fingers massage her temples. She groaned weakly as her optics onlined weakly, meeting Smokescreen's terrified yet relieved optics. "What happened?" "I don't know. So, many memories…" She replied weakly. Smokescreen tried to ease her to a sitting position, but she protested. "No, no Daddy. I just want to lay here for a while." The mech nodded and let her be, occasionally rubbing her cheek.

Hope eventually sat upright and rubbed her forehelm. "Primus…" She muttered, accepting Smokescreen's offer for support by leaning on him. "Do you feel better?" He asked hesitantly. "Yeah." She murmured, calming as he massaged her shoulders. "What happened?" Smokescreen's voice was filled with worry once more. "I'm not sure, but when you talked about Umbra, I remembered her and numerous things about her. I can recall everything about her, even her character." Her shoulders slumped sadly. "She was the only mother figure I had, well that I can really remember. Primus I'm going to miss her. Smokescreen rubbed her back soothingly and covered her with a blanket.

A sigh escaped her; she just lost her mother and sister and she didn't know if they would every return. "You hungry Hope?" Hope blinked, a bit startled out of her thoughts. "Yeah, yeah I'm starving." She replied. The morning before the Decepticons attacked the base was the last time she recalled refueling. Recharging and simply the dull ache in her tanks allowed her to stave off refueling, but his offer rekindled her hunger and her tank rumbled. Smokescreen chuckled and pulled a cube from his subspace, offering it to her. She took it and sipped the energon eagerly.

The hunger pains eased about halfway through the cube and she handed the rest to Smokescreen. "You sure you're finished?" He murmured. "Yeah, I'm full enough, and I don't want to drink too much. I haven't refueled in a while and the energon will make me sick if I drink too much." Another lesson from Glacierbreaker. Smokescreen nodded. "True. Very true." Hope lied on her side and drifted into a light doze. With parcially full fuel reserves, her body was able to relax and her mind wandered to something she had been thinking about for a while.

She felt older, though her age remained almost constant, her mind felt older and more mature. She no longer held the sparkling-like energy she had before Open Sea and Glacierbreaker were taken. She couldn't bring herself to act her age, despite still being in her youngling stage. Maybe the reason was her survival depended on her actions and Smokescreen's did as well. For better or worse, her frame of mind changed.

Her gazed shifted to Smokescreen, contently resting on his side. She imagined he noticed her shift but he didn't act as if he did. She couldn't remember how he acted normally though. She knew Umbra's natural actions and a bit of Optimus Prime and Ratchet, but she remembered very little of him. It scared her, because she didn't know if the memories would return. Smokescreen glanced back at her and gave her a bright smile. "Hey baby." He rolled to his hands and knees and shook himself off, freeing himself from snow.

Hope couldn't stop a soft giggle that escaped her lips, his actions bringing a memory of watching a wet dog shake itself off. "Oh, is that funny?" He smirked, his doorwings twitched slightly. "Yeah, it is." She smiled back. "Really? Well I don't think it is." He smirked mischievously and pounced on her playfully. Hope squealed happily as they rolled around their snow home and she giggled when Smokescreen pinned her gently. Hope was starting to feel more like a youngling now, as her worry was easing.

"Is it funny now?" He asked. "You still have snow on you, even more now." She replied calmly and flicked snow from his shoulder. When her fingers touched his shoulders however, her mind was overwhelmed by and unnerving sensation that made her tank churn and her helm throb. For the second time in the day, she nearly passed out from an overabundance of pain and energy. Smokescreen's voice echoed in her sore helm and she realized his sickening worry was making her sick. She was confused, by that.

She groaned and clutched her helm, turning away with a glimpse of Smokescreen's concerned expression. "Hope, what's wrong?" He pulled her face up and held it with both hands. "What happened?" He pressed. Hope hesitated in her own disbelief. "I-I felt, I felt what you felt. I can feel your happiness from finding me. You're happiness, no, joyfulness for me to finally be with you. I-I can feel your troubles too…" She paused with a weak whimper. "I can feel everything you're feeling."

She glanced up at him and her optics locked with his, Smokescreen's expression showed shock. She could feel his surprise through his touch along with a growing terror. "Primus, I've only read stories in the archives…" He whispered. "I never thought they were real, just stories… I-I never thought they would happen…" He placed her helm gently onto the snow and clasped her hand with both of his. "What do you feel?" He questioned, gazing at her quietly. "Y-you're scared." She replied quietly. Her mind and the pain had cleared after a while and she felt his emotions easily. He quickly pulled away from her and sat back without touching her. "Now what do you feel?"

"You're less scared, but you're anxious and worried." Hope answered straightforwardly, recognizing every one of his feelings as if they were her own emotions. Smokescreen relaxed. "Good, you're not specific." "Smokescreen, what am I not specific of?" She cried uncertainly. "Why am I sensing your emotions as if they are my own? She paused and her optics watered. "What's wrong with me?" She whimpered. Smokescreen crawled to her and hugged her soothingly.

"Hope, what you have is a special gift." He began. "There's nothing wrong with you I swear, it makes you unique. There are numerous bots like you, or at least there were before the war. From what I've read it was quite common." "What 'gift' do I have?" Hope interrupted, not caring what he was rambling about. She wanted to know what was wrong with her, why she was different and she wanted to know, now. "Well, Hope." He began. "I think you're empathic. You're mixed empathic, if I correctly remember the terms from the archive. You can sense others emotions by touch or without."

Hope stared at him in total shock. She had never heard of what he talked about and it scared her. "Then why didn't it show before?" She asked. Of course her 'gift' appeared right after she remembered Umbra and still ached from separation. "The records said the ability usually takes a while to surface. It usually comes in bursts at first, until the bot learns how to control it." Smokescreen explained, simplifying his explanation so she could understand. "Why did I almost pass out though? The helm ache was so sudden when I touched you, why?" "I think you were forming an empathic bond with me without realizing it. The stories told it happens to many empaths and helps many discover their abilities. Many empaths form a bond with a bot; usually with one they are close too, like a sibling or friend. The empathic bot can feel the emotions of the bot they formed the bond with better than any other bot they would come into contact with."

Hope nodded quietly at his explanation. "Kind of like our parental bond?" He nodded. Hope chewed on her lip. "But why the pain?" "That's a side effect from the bond, especially if it's sudden. Sometimes it's a helmache, for other bots it's different, Depends on the bot." Hope nodded rubbing her temples. "I don't understand why it couldn't happen on another day." She sighed while Smokescreen pulled her close and rubbed the back of her helm. She rested her helm on his shoulder and nuzzled his cheek. She felt her sparkbeat slow and synchronize with Smokescreen's spark. She felt even more connected with him and it made her ecstatic.

She suddenly remembered the day she and Smokescreen's father-daughter bond formed and her spark swelled in excitement. She was beginning to remember him, his history, and his antics. The memories came slowly and steadily, piece by piece in a uniform stream rather than a flood like Umbra's memories. _She recalled listening to his story as she hid in her father's shadow, after Optimus Prime introduced the new mech to every bot. She had been excited to see a new bot, but her presence was hidden until a few days later, when he found her after the nightmare._

_She didn't know what the mech thought when they first met but he was exuberant when she called him 'Daddy' for the first time. She smiled as she remembered him reading to her, teaching her or tucking her into bed._ The recollection made her pull away. The events of the day exhausted her and though the trickle of Smokescreen memories stopped, her mind and body were taxed. She was exhausted and Smokescreen could see it as she settled onto the floor. "G'night sweetspark." He murmured and kissed her helm, turning to settle for the night.

"Wait Daddy." She whimpered "Can you tuck me in and read me a story?" The mech was caught off guard but he smiled. "Sure sweetie." He snagged her blanket and draped it over her loosely then tucked it in close. He lay gently behind her and his arm holding her close helped reassure her that he was real. "What story do you want to hear?" He asked. She paused in thought, trying to remember her favorite stories. "I want to hear, _If You Gave a Mouse a Cookie_." She replied. Smokescreen laughed and began the story. Snuggled with her caregiver, she was beginning to feel as a youngling once more. Her troubles faded as he told the story, and when he finished, she drifted off peacefully.


	20. Education

_AN: Hope, the mech in Hope's dream and any other Ocs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Optimus, Ratchet any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Wow Hope, you did a really good job." The young femme onlined a tired optic to watch Smokescreen stand and stretch to his full height, flicking his doorwings. "You helped a lot." She pointed out and let her optic offline once more. "True." He murmured and Hope could feel his worry swell when she didn't reply. "You okay baby?" He asked. "Fine." She yawned, curling up tightly. "You sure?" He pressed. "Yeah, I'm fine. The snow packing exhausted me. I'll be fine with some rest and maybe I'll make it bigger after I recharge." She yawned again and rubbed her face. "Okay little one. Rest now and we'll make it bigger late." She smiled sleepily at him and drifted into a steady recharge.

She awoke later, flat on her back so she stretched and let her body calm on the packed snow floor. She sat up feeling rejuvenated and shook herself free from the snow clinging to her armour. She peered over the edge of the deeply packed area and smiled when she saw Smokescreen snoozing and curled up as if he was a sparkling. With a giggle, she jumped down to him. The space she worked hard to pack down was tiny, barely large enough for her to squeeze down with him, but it was deep enough to finally stand to stretch their cramping frames. She snuggled between his doorwings, cozy in the warmth given off by the appendages. _She recalled how she snuggled in the same way before she was abducted so she wouldn't damage his doorwings. _

She remained curled between his doorwings for several minutes before the mech awoke with a groggy yawn. By instinct she began rubbing his doorwings, after she squirmed from between them. The happiness the mech felt was mutual but the ache of missing her doorwings were not. _She remembered the doorwing massages occurring every morning, and every evening, a routine just between them. _Hope pulled her hands away after a few minutes and Smokescreen radiated from contentment. She sighed softly and ran a hand over his doorwings longingly. "What's wrong?" He asked worriedly. She took a deep breath. "I miss my doorwings."

A moment of silence passed before Smokescreen responded sympathetically. "I'm sure when we get back Doc can fix you up easy." "If we ever get back." She muttered solemnly. Smokescreen sat up slowly and gazed at her. "Now sweetspark, I don't think I've ever heard you say something so dreary. Keep your spirits high and have a little faith." Hope sighed and rested her forehelm on his chest even though it hurt. "I know." She sighed. "Just tired of being in here. I miss Umbra, I miss 'Breaker and I miss Open Sea." She cried into his chest, thankful for his support. "I feel your pain little one. It's getting cramped in here." He kissed where the crack wasn't apparent.

"When does winter end anyway?" He questioned. Hope paused. "I know the sun shows up again about in March, so I think about that time. I'm not completely sure, I forgot." Hope pulled away from him and stood slowly. It felt odd to stand once more and her legs ached. She stretched her frame, her arms, legs and entire in sections with an excited sound escaping her vocalizor. Smokescreen chuckled. "It feels good to stretch out again huh?" She nodded in agreement and sighed. "She still ached for her doorwings and she missed her previous caretakers. She squeaked when Smokescreen pulled him to his lap. She relaxed when he began massaging her shoulders. "Who are 'Breaker and Open Sea?" Hope shifted and began. "'Breaker's full name is Glacierbreaker and he and Open Sea found me; then took care of me. They were really kind." She sighed and continued to tell him about the pair. She told him of everything that happened, from waking up blind and deaf on the ice to the present.

Her storytelling took the better part of the day and by the time she finished, she was crying. Telling Smokescreen how amazing the pair were only made her miss them that much more. She stopped crying quickly though as Smokescreen was still massaging her back, but she still felt distressed. She still wanted to see them but she knew she may never see them again. The Decepticons had taken them and the pair were probably dead. She laid down on her side and with some coaxing from Smokescreen, she rolled onto her belly. It still hurt a bit from the wounds but the rubbing along her spinal column eased it.

Hope purred happily as he massaged her back for a few more minutes. Normally he would have moved to his doorwings but because she didn't have them at the moment, he focused on her lower back. She dozed off as there was nothing better to do. She heard Smokescreen begin to read _Stone Soup_ and with a slight shift, she dropped into recharge. She snapped awake from an odd dream and sat up, startling Smokescreen, who was relaxing in a corner. "What happened?" He asked. Hope reviewed her dream and told him. "It was pretty vague, but I could hear them. Two mechs, I don't remember their entire conversation but I heard one bot say, '_Have a little faith, she'll recover, I swear.'_ The mechs' voices paused and a second mech said, _'Faith, that's what we'll name her, Faith.'_ The dream shifted after that but it was still weird."

Hope felt his confusion as he pondered what he said. "So you kind of remember being named by Libel? Isn't that good?" "I guess so, but the second voice wasn't Libel's, it was a different bot. Even when Libel did have a kind voice, it didn't come close to the one I heard." Smokescreen shrugged lightly. "Maybe he was Libel's friend or something." He suggested. "Maybe." Hope murmured. "But he wasn't a very friendly mech." She felt his optics on her and she gazed up at him nervously. "It's true." She pointed out quietly. "I know; I'm just giving you ideas." Smokescreen grunted, briskly with annoyance.

Hope looked down quietly. "Thank you Smokey, I appreciate it." She felt him press against her with acceptance blooming and his annoyance fading. He kissed her cheek loving and rubbed her shoulder. "You're welcome little one, that's what I'm here for. I keep forgetting you can feel my emotions." He chuckled. "You hungry Hope?" She nodded eagerly and pushed him playfully, rolling away from him. The laughed in unison and shared a cube of energon. After refueling, Hope began to pack the rest of the snow down so they could have a larger area to move around. When Hope packed down the snow as much as she could with her bodyweight, Smokescreen stepped in and finished for her.

The pair finished rather quickly considering the amount of work they did, but they knew what they were doing this time around. When they finished, Hope relaxed on her bell while Smokescreen stood stretching, flicking his wings happily. "Hope?" "Hm?" She didn't online her optics to look at him. "You want me to begin teaching you English, since we'll be in here for another couple months and you need to learn." Hope reluctantly gazed up at him. "Sure, I remember some from before, but only a little, you know the basics." "Yeah, I remember the kids taught you a little bit and so did the others." Hope gave a weak nod of understanding. She didn't remember who the 'kids' were. She hardly remembered what the base looked like and the 'others' of the team.

At best Ratchet and Optimus were still vague, though she knew Ratchet was the medic and Optimus the leader, but anything beyond that was gone. She shrugged inwardly, thinking about the kids and others but finding nothing. They might have been important but right now she had no idea who they were. Hope listened quietly as Smokescreen babbled on in English. She caught a word here and there, but when he turned to ask her something, she stared at him blankly. He paused and muttered something in English that might have been, 'Let's try this again.' "Okay, as I said before…" Hope was grateful he transitioned to Cybertronian. "I'll start teaching you to read and write, the how to speak. I think you'll find it easier to learn to speak it after you learn to read, understand."

Hope nodded with a smile. "Yeah. Hey Smokey, can I ask you something?" The mech smiled. "Go for it little one." She hesitated. "Can you also teach me to read Cybertronian? Libel didn't allow me to read often. Everything I know comes from Mom, and I really want to learn." Smokescreen nodded. "Of course little one." He kissed her forehelm with a grin. He paused for a second. "I need to teach you self-defense." "That's a lot to learn." Hope pointed out. "I know but you can learn most of it by the time we leave this snow pit." Smokescreen replied. The mech had a point, Hope could learn relatively quickly.


	21. Playful WInters End

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

An icy liquid fell on her cheek, causing Hope to snap awake. "What?" She mumbled groggily. She glanced at the ceiling only to have another drop of freezing liquid fell between her optics. She squeaked and shook her helm. It took a few minutes for her to realize the snow was melting. She crawled to Smokescreen and shook his shoulder. "Smokey, the snow's melting." The mech stirred with a smile, excited she spoke English. She felt it transition to surprise though when he recognized what she said. "What do you mean?" "The snow's melting." Hope repeated. "I think spring has come." She backed up and allowed him to sit up. He rubbed his face and smiled brightly. "Thank Primus; I was getting really stir-crazy."

Hope giggled and they both stood, stretching. Smokescreen shook himself and approached the only area they didn't flatten out for this reason. He hauled himself up the stair-like area and Hope followed, waiting below him. She watched drops fall from the ceiling and heard Smokescreen digging out the snow, tossing it to the side. The sound was somewhat calming but it only lasted a few minutes as Smokescreen clawed at the snow eagerly, wanting to get out. He finally broke through and formed a circular opening.

The mech helped Hope out first then scrambled out right after her. When Hope hit the open, fresh air, she took in a deep breath and flopped onto an area of snow, that didn't consist of the ceiling of their hole, enjoying the warmth given off by the low lying sun. She was just as happy as Smokescreen to escape but she showed more enthusiasm by rolling around and throwing snow into the air. As Hope romped in the snow, Smokescreen had caved their hole after grabbing her blanket. With his back turned to him, she had a clear shot with her snowball, and she nailed his doorwing. He tensed, turning slowly to her and she gave him a mischievous smile, scooping up more snow.

"Oh, you're going to play it that way." He smirked. "Yep." Hope giggled and pelted him with another snowball. The mech gave a rumbling laugh and scooped up snow. She squeaked when the snow splattered across her chest and she retaliated, but missed. She scrambled to dodge the volley of snowballs he sent her way. She giggled rapidly as he was struck and she threw snow right back. Her aim was steadily improving but she missed more than she hit him. One of her retaliations, she caught a lucky shot and struck him in the face. Her smile faultered, remembering the many times she pegged him in the face before she remembered him. "I'm sorry for throwing snow in your face."

Smokescreen paused and his gaze softened. "It's okay little one, you didn't remember me and you were scared." Hope still felt but Smokescreen pelted her once more with snow, breaking her thoughts. She laughed and tackled him playfully. The pair rolled in the snow, each trying to pin one another. Hope's small form allowed her to wiggle from his grip several times, but she didn't have the strength to pin him. She was however, able to dig her fingers into his doorwings and get him to the ground. As soon as she eased her grip, the mech twisted around and pushed her off, pinning her on her belly with her arms behind he back.

She laughed and let herself go limp, knowing she couldn't escape. Smokescreen released her and she quickly sat up. "Good job little one. You're doing well with your English and you're learning in self-defense." Hope smiled happily. She had been speaking English and could understand Smokescreen when he spoke in it. She worked hard to learn her second language and how to defend herself. She still had much more to learn about protecting herself but she was doing well. "That was a good idea to squeeze my doorwing like that. Some bots dislike using weak points, but with your size, being so small, it's your best idea. Right now, I'm just going to teach you defense, and later I'll teach you offence."

Hope nodded and listened intently, knowing she wouldn't always have somebot to protect her. He looked her over. "What's your defensive stance?" Hope instinctively brought her arms up and clenched her fists. Her right arm was low with her hand nearly at her mouth, while her left arm was above her right and ajar. Smokescreen nodded. "Good job Hope. Your time was good too." She nodded happily and watched him intently. "You can relax, but that was good staying alert. I won't start a lesson unless you want to." Hope nodded eagerly and scrambled to her feet. Her arms took the same position as before with her legs spaced properly.

Smokescreen circled once, made a few adjustments to his stance and then took his own before her. An odd moment of silence before Smokescreen lunged. Hope bit back a squeak and darted to the side by instinct. Smokescreen halted and paused with a sigh. "I've told you before little one, you can't always dart to the side. If you do it to many times, your enemies will learn to expect that. I know it's hard little one, especially with your past, but you need to overcome that." He told her gently.

She sighed softly and nodded. "Okay, I'm sorry." "There's nothing to be sorry about Hope." Smokescreen gave her a sparkwarming smile and took his stance. Hope waited alertly for Smokescreen's move and when her lunged, she remained in place. Quickly, she shifted her weight and snapped her forearms together, clenching her fists tighter. She felt her denta rattle with the force of the blow and her shoulders and forearms throbbed, but she didn't move except back a bit from the punch. Good." Smokescreen encouraged. "Very good." Hope shifted a little and the snow crunched beneath her, causing her to giggle. She enjoyed the sound for some reason.

Smokescreen chuckled and shook his helm. He took his stance once more and Hope did as well. Smokescreen lurched forward faster than expected and she reacted by instinct, ducking away from him. Her mentor didn't have to speak for her to know he was a annoyed with her. He continued his barrage though, and Hope continued defending. There were several points were Hope could have brought him down, but Smokescreen wanted her to focus on defense. She found her rhythm, ducking dodging and taking blows in a random order and Smokescreen was content.

She did well protecting the top of her body and her abdominal area, but she had a difficult time transitioning. They worked on the transition for a long while and Hope finally understood what to do, but by the end, her sides were burning. They broke apart and Smokescreen had a bright smile. "Good job Hope, you did well. Let's take a break." They flopped down beside each other, rested and shared a cube. "Sorry for getting you so much." He nudged her playfully, apologizing. Hope laughed at him lightly. "The blows didn't really hurt but there were so many it started to. Don't worry about it though. A Decepticon wouldn't go easy on me, so why should you?" Her teacher nodded. "You're making some great progress."

Hope beamed and lied back wincing. For the first time in a long time, she watched the sun set and she smiled more. The temperatures were dropping though and Hope ached to be in the hole. "We shouldn't have destroyed the hole." "Why not? It would have continued to drip on us until it caved in on us." He pointed out. "True.," She yawned, but shivered with a breeze. "But it still would have provided protection." She felt Smokescreen contemplate that and he nodded. "Oh well, I think we'll be okay." Hope purred happily when she was covered with her blanket and with a full belly, she drifted off quickly.


	22. Abducted

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Soundwave and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope awoke as soon as the sun peeked above the horizon and she folded her blanker. Reenergized and invigorated by a good recharge, she scrambled to her feet only to jump onto Smokescreen. The mech yelped and the pair began rolling in the snow in a playful tussle. She managed to pin him and sat on his back, with a smile and crossed arms. Smokescreen chuckled and he fell limp beneath her. She eventually let him up and got to her feet once more. She felt hyperactive and as if she was a sparkling. It made her happy and she felt Smokescreen's happiness as well.

"You're energetic today." Smokescreen chuckled and pounced on her as he tickled her. Hope kicked out and squealed happily, managing to squirm away from his grip. "Why are you so active today?" Hope shrugged, sitting up. "I don't know, I guess I'm just really happy. Maybe because we're outside and I can see the sun again." Smokescreen nodded. "It feels good to be outside again." He reached over and grabbed her blanket, putting it in his subspace. "You want to practice a little Hope?"

She nodded eagerly, causing him to chuckle. "So eager to learn, that's good." Smokescreen patted her helm, standing and took his stance. Hope followed suit after scrambling to her feet. "Since you're doing well in defense, why don't you add in a little offence? I won't couch until we take a couple rounds. Act on instinct for a bit." Hope nodded at his orders. "I will." She shifted and watched him carefully. The mech lunged and Hope blocked his first blows. She barely dodged a left hook, but in that moment, he was open. In a flash, she struck just behind his elbow with her own, hearing a startled yelp.

Smokescreen stumbled away and rubbed the spot she hit, wincing lightly. "Good shot little one." He flexed his hand and readied himself. Hope tensed and watched Smokescreen wearily. She didn't feel hate coming from him but she knew somebots were good at hiding emotion. She doubted he would ever hate her but then again, she thought her father would never hate her when she was younger. Hope emitted a startled yelp when he tackled her. She punched him in the jaw desperately, fear pulsing through her body. It was a pitiful punch though, as she had no upper body strength and Smokescreen pinned her right arm across her chest with his right arm.

"That was a good punch Hope, but you need to be more alert. The Decepticons won't be so forgiving." She nodded quietly and squirmed, trying to figure out how to escape. She kneed him in the stomach and he released her with a grunt. Hope scrambled to her feet, flexing her knee and hand, wincing. She hadn't hit him hard but it was enough for him to let her go. "Good." Smokescreen had gotten to his feet and was rubbing his abdomen and jaw. "The punch was a bit weak but with practice it will get better, I promise."

Hope smiled weakly and prepared for his next charge. It came quickly and Hoe went on the defense, blocking and dodging blows. She didn't catch any openings that she could use to retaliate. Smokescreen was testing her with his actions though. He was testing her defense limits and attempting to see how far he could push her without her attacking. Hope refused to strike out, not because the mech was her mentor, but because she knew she was outmatched. He was larger and stronger than she, and she knew it. There was no way she could fight him off, and she felt he was testing her for that specifically, to see if she would fight back. She continued to refuse to fight back and eventually, they both exhausted themselves.

They flopped down, leaning against one another as they shared another cube. "Doing good little one, I know you realized you couldn't beat me but I wanted you to try." Hope nodded quietly. "Sorry…" Smokescreen patted her back. "It's fine; at least you realized you were outmatched. Some bots wouldn't have." Hope smiled softly and lied on her back. She dozed in the warmth of the sun while Smokescreen stood again and walked around. Maybe it was because she was used to being holed up, but she didn't have an urge to move around. "Do you hear that Hope?"

The young snapped from her stupor and gazed up at him. "What…" She stopped when she heard it. A low rumble, almost a hiss, echoed across the sky, approaching. Hope scrambled to his feet, listening while Smokescreen flicked his doorwings to pick up vibrations through the air. "What is that? It sounds so…" Her optics widened. "Primus it's jets!" Smokescreen turned to her. "Like Decepticon drones?" Hope nodded and both felt panic. "They're coming for me…" She squeaked. "I don't think so little one." He murmured. He jumped down into the depression made by their den and helped Hope down.

She huddled close to him as Smokescreen covered them with her blanket. They blended in with the snow perfectly with the blanket changing to the correct colour, and watched as a fleet of drones headed by a Predator Drone passed overhead. The Decepticons circled back and landed. The first mech that landed hit a thin patch of ice and plunged through with no help. Hope bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing and even Smokescreen felt a bit of amusement. "Who's the skinny one with a screen for a face?" She whispered to Smokescreen becoming serious. "I think that's Soundwave." He whispered back.

The mech named Soundwave paced on the ice as if searching for something. The mech had an odd devise on one of his arms. She didn't know what it did, but she knew it was bad. Smokescreen worried, very worried. He shifted anxiously and finally turned to her. "Hope, no matter what happens; stay here. I don't know what he wants, but it's not good." He slipped from the blanket and crawled up the wall slowly. Tears welled in her optics and she followed. Smokescreen noticed and stopped her. "No Hope. I know you want to nut I can't have you hurt." She cried softly and handed him her blanket.

He blinked in surprise and folded it, putting it away in subspace. "I love you." He kissed her helm then disappeared over the edge. She crawled up and watched helplessly as Smokescreen snuck up on the mech. He charged from behind only to be blasted by sound. Even from a distance, the blast made her audios ring, but Smokescreen tumbled across the ice from it. He groaned softly, sprawled on his back and Hope ached to help him. Two drones approached him and took him by the arms, dragging him to Soundwave. A green vortex swirled open and Hope recognized the sound. It was the same one that took Open Sea and Glacierbreaker away. "No… Smoke…" She whispered as the drones walked towards the vortex. Her optics offlined and she rested her helm on the wall, tears streaming down her cheeks.

An odd sensation swirled in the pit of her tank and her optics snapped online quickly. Smokescreen was the last piece of family she had and she was not going to let him go easily. Launching herself out of the hole, she charged the mech named Soundwave. She jumped to tackle him with an enraged cry, only to have him whirl around swiftly. She heard the high pitched hum of the devise only for a split second before it was lost in a blast of sound.

She hit the ice hard and tumbled across it, throwing up snow as she rolled across the snow. She skid to a halt, sprawled on her side with audios ringing and optics fritzing. By sheer determination, she hauled herself up and shook her helm. The blast she took wasn't as powerful as the one that hit Smokescreen, probably just to daze her, but she wasn't giving up. Panting, she let her aching body recover for a brief moment before charging again. She slammed straight into a wall of sound and landed hard on her back. She slid across the ice and slumped when she stopped. She could hear nothing over the ringing in her audios and she could barely see the drones above her. Her static filled optics offlined suddenly and she blacked out.


	23. Bruised

_AN: Hope, Libel, Glacierbreaker, Open Sea and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Knockout, Megatron and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope groaned weakly as her systems onlined one by one and recalibrated. "Hope, baby, is that you?" The whisper was weak but definitely Smokescreen. "Yeah…" She strained in response. Even though her optics were offline, the dimly lit room made her sensitive optics ache, but at least the ringing in her audios stopped. She squirmed weakly and groaned again. Her body hut from the impact with the snow and sound blasts. She felt something tight around her wrists and instinctively she tried to pull them free. When she went nowhere, she went limp against the uncomfortable berth. "Hope, you shouldn't have tried to help me." Her helm turned in the direction of Smokescreen's voice. "Other way."

She turned her helm to the other side and forced her optics online. She grimaced in pain at the light but her optics became accustomed to the dim light. Her optics focused on his worried expression and she finally started to feel the worry. She gave him a weak smile in an attempt to reassure him, but he remained unsure. He opened his mouth to speak but it snapped shut when several sets of footsteps approached. Hope watched wearily as an unusually short, red mech entered with several drones at his tail. The red mech studied the pair and pointed at Hope. "Throw her in the brig, we don't need her, yet." The drones complied and freed her appendages, only to cuff her hands. Hope considered the action stupid, as if she had the strength to kill them, or even hurt them, plus they have firearms.

She glanced at Smokescreen desperately, only to have a drone shove her forward roughly. She turned forward and limped along; glancing behind her periodically until she could no longer see Smokescreen. She noticed, as she walked farther and farther away from him, their empathic bond weakened and she eventually could no longer feel him. Unable to feel his life was beginning to stress the young femme further. She felt sick and she struggled to calm herself. She spooked when the mechs grabbed her by the arms, pausing at the door that just hissed open. The pair tossed her inside easily and she yelped when she collided with the floor.

Her small frame rolled a few times and ended up on her back. She allowed her body to recover before she hauled herself up to a sitting position. She eventually settled to her knees with her feet behind her and placed her hands flat on the floor in front of her for balance. As she sat alone under the single light, fear and anxiety settled in. She trembled heavily and fought to relax, but only made the feelings worse. She hated being alone as her thoughts and got the better of her when no one was around to balance her fear. She struggled not to purge her tank, the stress causing her to feel nauseous.

She lurched and her thoughts broke when the door hissed open. She had a fleeting moment of hope that the bot entering was Open Sea, Glacierbreaker or Smokescreen, but her spark fell when her father's figure became clear. She quaked in terror as her optics fell on the bright blue flames on his lower arms, flames she remembered all too well, bringing pain and uncertainty. "Well, well, well." The mech growled, sending shivers up her spinal column. "I didn't have to find you, you found me." Hope scrambled away from him in panic but didn't get far before Libel towered over her.

She squealed when he picked he picked her up by the wrists using a single hand. Her feet dangled in air and she gazed into her father's piercing optics, her own wide in fear. Libel gripped her throat with a huge hand and released her wrists and squeezed her neck hard. In a fleeting moment of bravery, she pulled her legs up and kicked him as hard as she could. The mech grunted in pain and released her for a small moment. She thudded to the floor and the look Libel gave her made her regret her actions. "I'm sor-" She was cut off when Libel grabbed her by the neck again and slammed her against the wall.

"You'll pay for that little fragger, you'll pay for that." Her chest heaved in panic and she helplessly watched his clenched fist wind back. She placed her hands weakly on his wrists and dug her fingers into the metal, forcing her optics offline so she couldn't see. She arched and emitted a strangled scream, as his fist collided with her abdomen. The grip on her neck tightened and she realized how easily he could snap her neck. The grip choked off her airway and prevented her from screaming as he beat her stomach.

Eventually, Hope fell limp in his grip, knowing there was no way she could escape. She simply took her father's blows and squirmed weakly occasionally, feeling energon trickling from her lips. "Drop her Libel." A commanding voice startled both bots and Libel stopped mid punch. Her father squeezed her neck tightened in rage but released when the voice repeated the order. She crumpled to the floor in a limp heap, gasping in short breaths as her frame recovered and cooled. "To the bridge, now." The unseen mech growled.

Hope's optics onlined to meet a fierce glare from her father. "Yes, sir." He hissed and turned away from her. She watched her father slink past a gunmetal grey mech that towered over her. She recognized her father's weakness in that moment, he had to follow orders. She shrank away from the larger mech as he approached, her intakes picking up again. With his heavy footfalls, Hope thought he was going to crush her, but he stopped just in front of her. "Pathetic." The mech muttered; gazing down with piercing optics filled with disgust.

"Get up." He snapped. Hope struggled to get to her feet and stay on her feet, but she continued to fall. She wasn't sure why she felt as if she must follow his orders, but she struggled to follow his order. She realized she couldn't stand and she allowed herself to crumple to the floor, panting in distress. She still felt energon trickling into her mouth and from her lips and she knew it wasn't good. The mech snorted and hauled her to her feet rather painfully. She struggled to stay up nut her legs gave out and she sank to her knees. She trembled under the mech's gaze, struggling to bring up the bravery she had hours before.

There was some factor about this mech that made her feel fear as she never had before. He radiated power, strength and dominance and she couldn't bring herself to feel courage or act upon it. The mech snorted again and plucked her from the floor. She gasped lightly in pain when the mech gripped her abdomen so the mech carried her in a surprising way. Instead of tucking her under his arm as if she were a package and holding her by the stomach, he held her tight against his broad chest. She realized this mech had some sort of sympathy for his prisoners, but Hope realized sickeningly that he only acted this way to keep her alive, most likely for interrogation. She bit her lip hard at the idea and refused to rest her helm on his chest.

Even with her helm several inches from his chest, she could still hear the powerful beating of his spark. It matched the strength the mech held, though the beating seemed a little off. She was surprised when the mech entered the place she woke up in. He placed her on the same berth she had awoken, not gently but he didn't throw her down either. The mech continued to seem unwilling to cause her harm, at least for a short time. He was a Decepticon though and probably had an agenda to fill with her. She became unsettled when she realized Smokescreen wasn't on the berth beside her and she worried for him.

She spooked when her cuffs offlined and the silver mech moved her arms and legs so the restraints clicked over them, trapping her on the berth. "Knockout." The gunmetal mech growled and in a short time, the mech that sent her away came into view. "Yes sir?" The smaller mech asked then saw her. "Ah, I see." He smirked at her and the silver mech left with a huff. "Seems you got yourself into trouble." The mech must have notice the energon running down her chin. He turned away from her for a short while and when he turned back around, he had something in his hand. She panicked by instinct and thrashed to escape, even though it brought terrible pain.

"Now little one, there's no need to do that." He came to her side and gripped her arm, readying what she could now see as a needle. Her optics widened when she saw it and she fought to free herself; with even more determination. She hated needles and she hated being close to them. "Struggling makes it worse kid." The mech growled. He pinned her arm more firmly and incapacitated it, and sank the needle into the vein. She cried out weakly and the mech finally released her arm. Their gazes met and Hope began to feel dizzy. Her world spun and her systems shut down one by one. Her optics offlined, helm lulled and she drifted into a forced stasis.


	24. Falsity

_AN: Hope, Open Sea, Glacierbreaker and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope stirred, surrounded by a very familiar warmth and scent. She squirmed weakly and onlined her optics slowly, finding herself in a room similar to before. She felt the arms of her loving sister around her chest and happiness welled up. "'Sea, is that you?" She whispered, still feeling dizzy. "Yeah, I'm here baby." Hope felt a soft kiss on the back of her helm. "How do you feel?" Open Sea asked gently. "A bit dizzy." Hope murmured. "Are you in pain?" Open Sea pressed. "A little." Hope replied softly. She was so groggy she didn't realize she spoke in English.

Open Sea notice though. "Little one, how did you learn English?" "Smokey taught me." Hope answered simply, relaxing and letting her optics drift offline. "Smokey?" The elder femme questioned. "Smokescreen is his full name. He was my caretaker from before." "So you remember?" The older femme murmured. Hope nodded. "Not everything, but mostly everything." Open Sea nuzzled her lovingly. "I'm so happy for you." Hope felt the older femme's happiness and she calmed, knowing only the distance was keeping her from feeling Smokescreen. Open Sea took in a deep breath and released it in a sigh. "What do you remember Peppermint?"

Hope hesitated; she hadn't heard that name in a long time. "Hope." The young femme felt the elder's confusion. "My real name is Hope." She added. There was a moment of silence before Open Sea spoke. "I like that name just as much as the other." Hope smiled weakly and explained everything else she remembered. It took a long while, but it passed time. Open Sea listened intently, and Hope could feel her curiosity. When she finished, Open Sea kissed her helm again. "Mi- I mean Hope, there's something-" The older femme fell quiet as the door opened. Hope onlined her optics and gazed up. "'Breaker." Hope smiled softly but it fell when she saw his grim expression and the drones.

Open Sea released her and she realized they had no cuffs on. The young femme watched him approach nervously, feeling his anxiety. He checked Open Sea over first, keeping his back to her. "'Breaker, what's the matter?" Hope whimpered as Glacierbreaker finished his check on Open Sea. He sighed and waved at the drones, and they left. Hope thought the occurrence odd but Glacierbreaker was acting weirdly, so she attributed it to the drones leaving seemingly at his will to Glacierbreaker's behavior. Slowly, the mech turned to face her and her jaw dropped. "No, no you couldn't have 'Breaker." She choked out. "You couldn't have become a Decepticon!" She cried and placed her hand on the violet, evil face-like symbol.

The mech's shoulders slumped and his helm lowered. "I'm sorry to disappoint but I did." He sounded disappointed in himself and he refused to make optics contact. "They gave me a choice, join and help Knockout, or refuse and have my loved ones slaughtered." Hope pulled away then hugged him briefly. "I understand." She whispered. "I'm not proud of myself." He muttered. Hope fell quiet as he checked her over quickly. He left the pair without another word after he finished. Hope watched him devastated and she pulled her knees to her chest. "I'm sorry baby; I was trying to tell you." Open Sea murmured. Hope shook her helm. "It's fine 'Sea." She sighed and leaned on her sister.

The femmes jumped when a storm of laser-fire erupted and Smokescreen burst in. His optics sparkled with sparkling-like excitement, he was panting heavily and his lips were curled in a smirk. "Come on Hope, we pot to go." Hope glanced at Open Sea. "I can't leave her." She looked up at Smokescreen pleadingly. Open Sea rested a hand on her shoulder. "Go little one." Open Sea shifted painfully. "I can't run sweetie, my leg's broken. I'll be fine here sweetspark." Hope was torn between the two and she glanced between them unsure. "Hope-" Open Sea began.

"No!" She cried. "No! I'm not going to leave you 'Sea, I won't. You're one of the only family members I have left. 'Breaker may have abandoned us, but I won't!" She hauled herself up and pulled the elder femme up to her feet. Open Sea struggled to stand and Hope helped support her. Smokescreen helped as well and they hobbled out of the room. Hope felt good about herself. She stood up for herself and it felt good not to be scared. She started when Smokescreen stopped suddenly before an open dock.

Her optics widened as she watched the ground streak by far below. "We have to jump!" Smokescreen cried over the roaring winds. "Are you fragging serious?" Hope cried back. Both adults glaring at her and she blushed. "Sorry Daddy." She whispered, not remembering where she picked up the word. Smokescreen huffed, though she didn't hear it and glanced behind them. Laser-fire closed in on them. "Hope, we have to jump. I have an idea." She looked at Open Sea and the elder femme nodded. "Let's get out of here." Hope took in a deep breath, offlined her optics and jumped with Smokescreen and Open Sea.

She screamed in terror as the trio plunged through open air. Smokescreen struggled to keep them from spiraling and Hope helped him the best she could. He must have talked to the 'others' at the base because she heard the sound of a swirling green vortex open. Her optics slowly onlined and sure enough, the swirling mass was beneath them. She squeezed her optics shut again and stiffened as they fell into it. The sensation of falling into the vortex was odd, it didn't hurt or make her sick, but it was a tingly odd feeling. She forced her optics online again only to have them pop and a scream escaped her lips as she watched the ground rush towards them.

Her optics offlined again and she felt another peculiar sensation about the time she expected to hit earth. Again the sensation caused no pain and felt as if they had fallen into water. The sensation came again but was followed by a soft breeze kissing her armour and warmth spreading through her. Hope took a deep breath and allowed her optics to online once more. Her vision was greeted by dirt and rocks but she was glad it wasn't ice and snow. "Come on." Smokescreen motioned to another vortex near them with his helm. She felt his exhaustion but she didn't bring it up. The trio hobbled to the vortex and Hope was relieved when they got to the other side.

It felt odd not to hear the crunching of snow and instead, metal striking concrete but she became accustomed to it easily. Her optics widened at the sight of Ratchet and Optimus Prime standing before them. Suddenly, her knees felt weak and her mind whirled. Smokescreen and the waiting duo notice immediately and Optimus took Open Sea to a berth while Smokescreen caught Hope as she crumpled. As when she remembered Umbra, memories of Ratchet and Optimus Prime bombarded her and she couldn't compensate. She barely heard Smokescreen's desperate attempts to bring her around.

Her breaths came in irregular gasps and her spark pounded in her chest. She struggled to stop the mass of memories but she could not fight properly. She shook uncontrollably as Smokescreen clutched her close. The memories snapped as Smokescreen pressed his hand to her cheek and she managed to focus her optics on his face. "That's it Hope, just a little more." He encouraged and slowly, she managed to get ahold of the memories. Her ragged gasping eased and her sparkbeat calmed with time. She fell limp in Smokescreen's arms as her body stopped shaking.

"Why did she do that?" Ratchet spoke first, coming to Smokescreen's side. "Memories came back." Smokescreen replied and carried her to a berth. Hope remained focused on Smokescreen as the medic checked her over, relaxing when he found her vitals to be calming, then tended to Open Sea. Optimus Prime watched this happen closely and walked to Smokescreen. He prepared a speech, Smokescreen stopped him. "Wait, before you kill me, I have the Omega Keys." The mention of the relics sent more memories welling in her helm and she groaned softly as her helm throbbed.

Ratchet immediately came to her and she watched as the other mechs gaze at her. "Come Smokescreen, we shall discuss this in private." Ratchet stopped the leader respectively though. "I'm sorry Optimus, but I cannot allow you to do so. Smokescreen is the only bot that can bring her back if she falls into the memories again. Plus they need time to become accustomed to their surroundings as well." Optimus nodded once; then turned to Smokescreen. "Remain with Hope for today. Tomorrow morning, I expect you to be in my office. Understood?" The young mech nodded quietly and Optimus Prime left to his room as Smokescreen explained fully what happened during her fit.


	25. Recruitment

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope jolted from recharge with a strained cry and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. The human numbers were easy to read but she didn't like the six' o'clock time the digital numbers showed. She rubbed her face sleepily and rolled onto her side. She hated being alone even though the blanket smelled like Smokescreen, he missed his presence. The mech left about an hour before as part of his punishment. For two months he was confined to the base and for three months was to be Ratchet's helper.

Optimus wanted his punishment to be worst, but due to certain occurrences and the fact that Smokescreen brought back the Omega Keys, the leader was lenient. Either way, Open Sea was laid up in the medical bay and Hope was alone, with continuous nightmares. When Smokescreen left, she pretended to sleep but she hadn't slept all night. She was awake for about two days, Smokescreen had been too busy to notice but Ratchet did. The medic ordered her to a full day of rest and relaxation, but it wasn't going so well.

Every time Hope attempted recharge, images of her past and Cybertronian creatures with mouths filled with razor sharp denta appeared. The young femme was drained and only wanted to snuggle up with one of her caretakers and recharge. She wondered if Ratchet would allow her to snuggle with Open Sea but she doubted the medic would. Exhausted, she rolled over again and buried her face into the soft fabric of her blanket. She felt her body finally drifting off and she didn't fight the recharge she slipped into.

Once more, she jolted awake but this time with a scream, terrifying Ratchet and causing him to jump. "I see how your day has been." The medic shook his helm and settled onto the berth beside her. "Are you hungry Hope?" The femme glanced up at him and nodded tiredly. Ratchet helped her sit up and tensed when she leaned on him. She felt he allowed her to lean on him only because she was a patient. He handed her a full cube from the nightstand and Hope gulped it down. She surprised herself with her hunger and even Ratchet was surprised.

"Feel better Hope?" The medic asked and she nodded. "How long have I been recharging?" Ratchet shifted awkwardly and looked down at her. "I've been here for a couple hours. What time did you wake up?" "I never really fell asleep, the nightmares kept me awake but I think I fell into recharge about six or seven. That was about the last time I looked at the clock." She yawned and smiled inwardly when Ratchet covered her shoulders with the blanket. "I think you'll be happy to learn that you've been in recharge almost all day." Hope blinked in surprise at the mech's comment. "Really? But I feel so tired."

Ratchet laid her back gently. "A common occurrence for a bot that has recharged for so long." Hope paused when she thought of something. "How did you know I was asleep?" He quirked an optic ridge but chuckled. "I sent Smokescreen in here a bit after you fell into recharge. He told me you were sprawled across the berth, snoring." Hope giggled softly and rested her helm on her pillow. "You want to see Open Sea?" Ratchet asked suddenly. She nodded but paused. "You told me you wanted me to stay here though." The medic shook his helm and chuckled.

"I think you have rested enough and you need to get up and move around a bit." He replied. The young femme nodded then stretched out. Ratchet stood and helped the young femme up. The medic supported her as her legs became accustomed to her weight again. She followed the mech happily, eager to see her sister once more. When she got to the medical bay, Hope hugged Smokescreen briefly before going to Open Sea. She smiled brightly at the femme but it fell when the femme gave her a forced smile back.

She felt horrible when she realized Open Sea wanted to remain with Glacierbreaker on the Decepticon warship and feeling the older femme's distress only increased hers. She looked down quietly and retreated to a berth away from the femme when Open Sea looked away from her. She fell into an uncomfortable silence, with her shoulders slumped. Maybe she should have left Open Sea. The older femme may not have been safe but at least she would have been happy. Hope took Open Sea's life into her hands that day but she should have just let Open Sea go, as she had done with Umbra.

To distract herself, she glanced over at Ratchet to see what he was doing. She couldn't see what he was working on as his back was to her but her curiosity overwhelmed her and she approached quietly. "What do you want Hope?" He asked grumpily. "I just wanted to see what you were doing." She replied shyly and backed up. The medic sighed. "Hope, I'm really busy…" Hope looked down again and turned away saddened. Ratchet stopped her before she could return to her berth. "But if you really want to, you can watch if you stay quiet and out of the way."

Hope brightened immediately and she couldn't stop her smile. "Okay, I won't touch anything. I promise." She pulled up a stool and watched Ratchet work. "What are you working on?" She asked. "I'm working on your doorwings." He replied calmly. She felt his false grumpiness and gruffness melt away and transition to him beaming in pride as he notices her pure curiosity at his work. She excited at his reply, happy she would have her doorwings back. She watched the mech quite contently.

Watching the mech work gave her something to do and prevented her from feeling lonely, she didn't even notice Smokescreen leaving at Ratchet's order. She felt Ratchet's happiness as well. He had a bot showing interest in his work without damaging it and company that didn't talk endlessly. Ratchet paused his work after a while and looked at her. "Have you ever thought of what you wish to become?" Hope was caught off guard by his question. "I-I'm not sure. It would probably affect my studies huh?"

The mech nodded with a chuckle. "You're right Hope, it would." He paused. "Where did you learn to speak English Hope?" She considered her answer, forgetting she was speaking the human language rather fluently, guessing Smokescreen had been 'debriefed'. "Smokey taught me while we were in the Arctic." The medic nodded. "You are a very intelligent femme. I think you would be a great medic." "Really?" Hope asked surprised. Ratchet nodded. "You're smart, you have a skilled set of hands and you're sympathetic, great values for any medic." Hope felt excitement spark but then it faltered. "But I don't know anything about Cybertronian anatomy and I can barely read and write in it."

Ratchet wiped his hands off on a rag then patted her shoulder. "Do you know that Cybertronians have biological systems that cannot be remade?" She nodded perplexed. "Then you do know something." He pointed out then continued. "Don't worry about it Hope. I think I can teach you everything you need to know. If I can't, I'm sure Smokescreen can help you." The young femme smiled and perked up as Smokescreen came into the medical bay. "I think you're done for the day Smokescreen, you may go." The young mech smirked happily and Hope looked at Ratchet.

The medic gave her a rare smile and motioned for her to follow. She beamed and hugged him tightly. The medic was surprised and tense, but Hope darted to her father figure. He waited for her with a hug and scooped her up. He carried her to their room and Hope glanced back. Ratchet continued his work but Open Sea was staring at the wall listlessly. Her spark fell and she buried her face into Smokescreen's neck to hide her tears. She should have left Open Sea.


	26. Present

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"What's the matter sweetspark?" Hope didn't reply as he settled on the berth beside her curled up form. He was still damp from his shower and getting her blanket wet. She pulled it from under him and sighed. "I don't want to talk about it." She murmured. The mech gave her an understanding expression. "Okay Hope, but I'm here if you need to talk." He disappeared into a room they used as storage as Hope chewed on her lip, trying to persuade herself that she should talk. When Smokescreen reappeared, he felt she wanted to talk so he set the box he had on the ground and sat on the berth.

He was no longer damp so Hope allowed him to sit on her blanket as she prepared herself. "I should have let 'Sea stay." Smokescreen's frame sagged because he knew the femme's pain. "Hope, it's okay." Hope shook her helm as tears rose. "Sweetspark… Come on, it'll be okay." She shook her helm in denial. "No, it won't." She felt sympathy from him as he rubbed her shoulder. "Everything will work out." He began. "Stop telling me that!" Hope burst then broke into sobbing. "She was happy there and I stripped her from that. She deserved to stay but I forced her to come with us. Now she's miserable and it's my fault, it's my fault!"

She sobbed loudly and buried her face into in his neck as he pulled her to his chest. Smokescreen rubbed her back lovingly and kissed her helm. "Sh, little one, you're alright." Hope trembled against him not really wanting to listen. "Here-" A knock on the door interrupted him. Hope whimpered when Smokescreen placed her on the berth and answered the door. Both were surprised to find it was Ratchet, informing Smokescreen he didn't need to help the next day and Hope felt Ratchet's gaze on her. The elder bots had a short conversation in low tones before Ratchet left and Smokescreen returned.

Hope still felt horrible and she knew Smokescreen felt it. He sat beside her and picked up the box. "Here little one, I think you'll like it." He sat beside her and pushed the box towards her. She gave a weak sniffle and sat up slowly. HSe was surprised to find it had Christmas wrapping paper. "I know it's late, but Merry Christmas." He kissed her helm again. Hope carefully opened the paper, not wanting to rip it more than needed for some reason. She noticed the box was wrapped in a way that she would expect from a mech, a bit sloppy but it worked. She had a weak smile on her lips as she opened the box but it brightened as she pulled out the giant plush bunny.

She squealed happily and clutched the stuffed animal to her chest, burying her face in the fluffy object. "I thought you might like it." Smokescreen kissed her helm. She leaned against him and nuzzled him. "Thank you Daddy." She felt his pride swell. "You're welcome baby." There was a pause. "You know, humans have a custom of naming them. Are you going to name it?" Hope looked over the white rabbit. It had a black splotch over its right eye, the tip of the left was black and the entire cotton-like tail was black. She considered naming it 'Spot', but she found it too common and not special.

She thought of the real creatures, jumping and scampering around. "I think I'll call him Bounce." She nuzzled the animal again. Smokescreen chuckled and rubbed her helm. "Tomorrow I don't have to help Ratchet so I'll be with you all day." Hope squealed in excitement and hugged him. "So I get my Daddy all day?" She felt his spark lurch at her question. "You're right baby." He kissed the top of her helm and stroked the crack gently. She relaxed at the sensation, surprised it didn't hurt, and let out a relaxed sigh, forgetting about Open Sea for a moment.


	27. TLC

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

The next morning, Hope faced a dilemma. Smokescreen promised the previous day he would spend the entire day with her, but now he seemed to be getting ready to go somewhere; moving various things and adding some to a collection. She watched sparkbroken, saddened by the idea of Smokescreen breaking his promise. "Smokey." The little femme whimpered. She was greeted by a bright smile that faded quickly. "You said you would spend the day with me." She whined. His expression fell at the pitiful look she gave him and he stopped what he was doing. "Sweetspark I was. I promise. I was just cleaning the room up and afterwards I was going to take a shower."

She sniffled as he rubbed her cheek. "Why didn't you wake me? I would have helped." The mech smiled once more. "You needed to recharge little one. I know your nightmares were keeping you up." Hope was surprised. "You knew?" The mech nodded. "It's hard to hide something like that from a true loving father." He kissed her helm as his statement made her optics swell with tears. He smiled brightly and happiness swelled. "Come on little one, get your stuff, you need a shower." Hope huffed. "Are you saying I stink?" She questioned. "No, I have no idea what you're talking about." He replied with a smirk.

She rolled off the bed when Smokescreen backed up and grabbed a towel from the closet. She quickly covered Bounce with the blanket and followed Smokescreen to the washroom. The mech turned on the water for her, making it warm and snuggly. He turned on his shower and handed her a wash rag. Hope's frame relaxed as she entered the warm stream of water and she hummed happily as the soothing warmth rolled over her. She felt her stress melt away with the water and she started to scrub herself off.

She was surprised by the amount of dirt that she scrubbed off her armour, not knowing how she became covered in so much dirt but she didn't worry about it. She squeaked when Smokescreen began cleaning her back but relaxed into the fruity scent. She forgotten Smokescreen was with her and he cleaned faster than she did. "Daddy?" She asked. "Hmm?" He responded. "Why do you have soap that smells like human fruit?" Smokescreen rolled his optics. "Miko thought it would be a nice," He paused trying to think of a proper word. "Gift." Hope giggled, recalling her recent encounter with the human female. The 'gift' matched the human's outgoing personality.

"It smells good though." She added and Smokescreen rolled his optics."Yeah, I guess it does, but everyone teases me for it." Hope huffed at his statement. "At least you don't stink." She pointed out to him and he nodded. "True." He finished cleaning her back and she rinced herself off. She felt better now that she was clean. She looked up at her mentor and found him holding out the rag for her. She immediately took it and began cleaning her back as he had. It was another way for doorwingers to bond, though Hope didn't have hers.

Smokescreen melted into her cleaning touch and it was apparent Hope was enjoying it as well, but for a different reason. She remembered exactly where his sensitive spots were and the spots were difficult to clean alone. She was ecstatic to remember something about him. Smokescreen sighed happily when Hope finished and he rinsed off. They turned off the faucets in unison but Hope grabbed her towel first. She covered herself at her chest and with a quick glance down she wondered how the humans got such a large chunk of fabric. She shrugged off the thought and exited the room, following Smokescreen.

"Let's go back to the room and watch a movie." Hope nodded happily and followed him back to the room. She was dry when she reached the room, so she jumped onto the berth, flinging off her towel, and rolled up in her blanket, holding Bounce close. Smokescreen chuckled and picked up her towel, drying himself off afterward. He hung the towels to dry and turned to Hope. "What do you want to watch?" Hope shrugged. "Whatever you want Daddy." He huffed playfully, with slight annoyance. She knew he disliked when she told him that but she didn't remember most of the movies she had seen before. "I think I know what movie you'd like, again." He smiled.

He picked a datapad with a downloaded movie and turned it on, placing it on the berth. When the human Rafael learned of Hope's existence, he was kind enough to transfer numerous human kid movies to the datapads. The DVDs humans had were too small for Cybertronians to hold and both bots were grateful for his contribution. Since she returned she watched multiple movies but had yet to scratch the surface of the movie collection. She was content as Smokescreen settled beside her and the movie played.

Entertained by the opening credits and music, she realized she knew the movie. Shoe loved the movie and recalled watching dozens of times. "We're watching _Aristocats_." She squealed and hugged him tightly. "Yeah, you're right. Do you remember?" She nodded, feeling his excitement. "I'm glad you're remembering." He commented. Hope smiled and settled down, overwhelming her father figure with her own excitement. She was still struggling to control her ability as it came and went randomly and she knew she needed to control it. Once more, the movie distracted her and she was able to disperse her excitement.

About halfway into the movie, Smokescreen paused the movie to Hope's dismay. "You hungry little one?" She paused then nodded vigorously. "I forgot to get you energon yesterday, Primus I'm sorry." He apologized. "It's okay Daddy. You were busy and tired when you got to the room." She kissed his cheek receiving a smile. He stood and picked her up gently. She felt his regret from the happening and she knew he was beating himself up over it so she gave him a loving pulse through their empathic bond. Smokescreen was a bit startles so he looked down at her. "You're learning to control it?" Hope nodded once. "I'm trying when I can, since it comes and goes."

Smokescreen nodded in understanding, shifting her somewhat. Hope smiled contently and allowed her helm to rest on his shoulder. She offlined her optics and rested as Smokescreen approached the energon storage. She onlined her optics as Smokescreen sat her down outside the room. Surprised by the sound of beeping a whirring, she looked up to see a yellow and black mech approaching. She eyed the mech wearily, not sure if they were friends before or if he was going to harm her but his cheerfulness eased her worry. She hated being unable to remember and the mech seemed to sense she could no longer remember. He whirred and beeped at her in a gentle way but she only stared up at him in utter confusion, unable to understand him.

His face saddened when she didn't reply and hic cheerfulness disappeared. Hope felt horrible for not even attempting to act as if she understood or remembered him, so she gave him a soft wave and squeaked out, "Hello." The yellow mech brightened up instantly and began to ramble on his unique language. Hope stopped him gently by raising her hand. "I'm sorry, I-I don't remember you and I don't know what you're saying." The poor mech deflated once more and his perked doorwings went limp. He turned to leave disheartened but Hope stopped him, grabbing his hand. "Wait, maybe, if, I hung out with you sometime, maybe I would remember." The mech inflated once ore and he nodded happily.

He hugged her and they both looked up as Smokescreen reappeared with energon. "Bumblebee, it's good to see you." The larger mech seemed genuine as he spoke. Bumblebee nodded to him once, then waved at Hope and left. Hope couldn't help herself from waving back until she felt Smokescreen's gaze. "Do you remember anything about him?" Hope shook her helm. "No, why?" "You two were best friends." He replied and started back towards their room. "Is that why he looked so sad when I told him I didn't remember him?" Smokescreen looked down at her and nodded. "I would imagine."

Hope chewed on her lip quietly, following Smokescreen loyally but she noticed he didn't turn towards their room. "Smokey, where are we going?" The mech smiled down at her. "We're going to the rec. room." Hope squirmed nervously. "Why?" "I figured you would want a little break from the room and some social interaction." "But I don't remember any of them?" She huffed in frustration. She felt odd interacting with the other members of Team Prime, especially the humans, because she never felt invited. The blue femme, Arcee, always gave her the cold shoulder and most of the other bots. The large green mech and Bumblebee were usually distracted by their human partners. Hope didn't feel as if she fit in, even though they all knew of her amnesia.

"Please Daddy, I don't want to." She begged him stopping. She felt as a spoiled sparkling would but she didn't care. She stressed thinking of the judgmental gazes she imagined they used, thought the others usually didn't. Smokescreen stopped as well and sighed. "If I check to see if Bumblebee is there, will you go?" Hope nodded quietly. "Okay." He sighed again. "Wait ouside and I'll check." She nodded once and did as he told. Smokescreen disappeared around the corner for a moment then returned. "He's not there, come on." Hope could hear the aggravation in his voice and she followed silently, her shoulders and helm low.

She entered the room before him and gulped. Libel would always make her enter before he did so he could lock the door. She bit back a whimper and struggled not to tremble as she crawled onto the berth. "Hope, you need to get over this fear." Smokescreen had his back to her and she felt his disappointment. He turned around quickly and his tensed doorwings made her imagine Libel standing before her about to strike her. She yelped and shrank away from him, breathing rapidly and trembling. "Hope." Smokescreen's voice became serious and concerned. He reached towards her and she flinched away with a squeak. Her optics squeezed shut when she felt his touch on her chin.

"Little one, look at me." She fought his gentle pull on her chin and he fought her. "Sweetspark, look at me." Hot tears streamed down her cheeks but she forced her optics online and they met with Smokescreen's worry filled optics. "Sweetspark, I would never hurt you." She hiccupped at his voice and lowered her helm quietly. "Little one." She forced herself to look up again and met his loving expression. "I promise; I would never harm you. Why did you think that?" She shook her helm sobbing softly. "I don't know Daddy, I don't know."

She buried her face into his chest and cried herself out. Hiccupping softly, she held Bounce close and lied on her side. Smokescreen rubbed her shoulder and turned the movie back on. She calmed down and watched the movie, huddling under her blanket with Smokescreen holding her. She barely finished the movie with her optics online and when she drank the energon, after Smokescreen coaxed her to do so, she drifted into recharge. She woke from her nap still tired but she didn't feel as stressed as before. She noticed Smokescreen wasn't in the room and she whimpered in distress.

She pulled her blanket off her and squeezed Bounce tight as she left the berth. She rubbed her optics with her free hand. "Smokey?" She whimpered again with no response. She whined and made her way to Ratchet. She felt lonely and a little sparkebroken. She paused at the corner to the medical bay, hearing Smokescreen's voice. "Doc, I'm getting a little worried. Hope's been acting a little off. She's been really moody and today she imagined I was Libel." There was a pause before Ratchet replied. "Well, many of her systems are maturing a bit faster than expected and as they mature, the systems produce large amounts of chemicals similar to what the humans call hormones. Within a few weeks, her internals will fully mature, the chemicals produced will lesson and balance out and her emotions will calm."

Another pause came. "So, she's just growing up?" Another, shorter, pause. "As for the image, did it seem as if it was a flashback?" Ratchet asked. "Yeah, that's it." Smokescreen replied. Ratchet sighed. "I believe she might have a mild case of PTSD." "PTSD?" Smokescreen sounded confused. "Post-traumatic stress disorder, a human disease that Cybertronians can have as well. It occurs when a bot, or human, encounters a situation that causes trauma. The bot will flashback to that moment or moments, with whatever trigger is present. Triggers can be almost anything but in her case, I think they are connected to the hands and body language. Right now though, it could be just be the chemicals coursing through her."

"So it might be temporary?" Hope peeked around the corner and saw Ratchet nod. "It might be." Smokescreen shifted uneasily. "Doc?" The medic glanced back at him. "Why are her systems producing the chemicals? Sorry for the stupid question but I was never good at science and I can remember." The medic chuckled. "The chemicals give her body a boost of energy and help her body grow." "So, I can expect to see a growth spurt?" The medic nodded. "Just keep her properly energized and her body will do the rest." Hope watched Smokescreen relax and rub the back of her neck. "Thank Primus, I thought she was sick." Ratchet gave a rare smile. "Feel free to ask me if anything else comes up."

Smokescreen thanked the medic and turned towards Hope. The young femme pulled back quickly and acted as if she had just awoken while Smokescreen turned the corner. "Sweetspark, what's wrong?" "I had a bad dream and when I woke up I couldn't find you." She sniffled and hugged him. "I came to find you." Smokescreen smiled lovingly and picked her up. "Come on little one, let's go watch another movie. Afterwards, I'll read you a bedtime story." Hope smiled happily. "Okay Daddy." She nuzzled Bounce and rested her chin on his shoulder. "What movie do you want to watch?" He asked. "_The Lady and the Tramp_." She replied and the mech chuckled. "Okay little one." She snuggled close and didn't tell him she had overheard their conversation.


	28. Friendship

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, Dreadwing and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Low rumbling thunder distracted Hope momentarily as she attempted to find shelter in the gorge miles from the Autobot base before the rain came. She sighed lonely, eventually finding a shelter in a cave. She pulled her knees to her chest and gazed outside as the rain poured. She came outside in hopes of having fun but it only made her loneliness worse, especially after she became lost in the dark caused by the storm. She ached to be back in the base but she knew she would be just as alone. Smokescreen was working for Ratchet, doing whatever the medic wanted. Ratchet had come to a point in constructing her doorwings that was too complicated for her to understand. The last she checked, Bumblebee and the large green mech were playing with the humans, and Arcee was being her grumpy self. Optimus Prime was working hard and she didn't want to disturb him.

A bright flash of lightning illuminated the cave and Hope squealed in terror at the glimpse of a Decepticon. The brilliant red optics onlined and focused on her as the royal blue mech sat up. She scrambled back, straight into the rain trembling from the cold water. The massive mech studied her and she shrank from his gaze. "What the frag do you want kid?" He growled and Hope found herself speechless. The mech huffed. "Typical." He turned around and lied on her side, seeing she wasn't a threat. Hope huddled at the entrance to the cave, struggling to keep warm and fight the tears.

Cold, scared and alone, she let herself cry. Only she could find a Decepticon in the oddest place, and be helpless to fight him of course. She squealed in terror when the mech grabbed her and pulled her out of the rain. She thrashed in his grip and lashed out at him desperately. He released her to her surprise and he retreated further into the cave. Hope settled onto her knees, still shivering and sopping wet. Her surprise remained and deepened when she felt his pain and frustration as if they were her own. Slowly, she crawled to the mech and rested her hand on his wing. She focused and sent a pulse of emotion in an attempt to soothe the mech.

He jolted away from her touch with a startled grunt and stared down at her. "What the slag?" He growled and studied her closely. "What do you want?" He huffed gruffly. The mech faked anger and annoyance but Hope could feel his hurt and loneliness. Hope didn't reply, instead she took his hand and, despite her throbbing helm, rubbed his palm in an attempt to to soothe him. She felt the mech begin to relax and his pain eased as she sent out the soft emotion pulses. "You're a little empath huh?" He pulled his hand away and Hope collapsed from exhaustion. She felt his surprise as he picked her up and rested her on his chest.

She panted heavily, knowing she overworked herself. She curled against his chest and listened to his spark, feeling an overwhelming trust towards the mech she couldn't explain. She felt new sensations settled over his spark, stubborn honor and broken pride. Something happened to him recently but she didn't know what it was. The mech covered her with his hand, being surprisingly gentle with her. Despite being a Decepticon, his honor kept him from harming her. "Why were you out little one?" Hope hesitated before replying. "I was lonely." She felt his understanding, and a bit of yearning.

She relaxed at his tender back rubbing and she finally brought up enough courage to ask. "Why are you hurting so much?" The mech was taken aback. He took in a weary breath, feeling the same trust Hope did. "A while back my twin was killed by one of your kind. My brother died honorably and the mech fought honorably as well. My twin rested in piece, but a traitorous slagger rose my brother from the dead and left him to wander in an alternant dimension without peace. The same bastard came crawling back to the Decepticons and Megatron appointed the slagger to second in command, even after the mech attempted to kill Megatron several times. I did not learn of his actions until today and I am still overcoming the pain."

The mech sighed heavily and Hope felt his abandonment and distress. "Why did you come here?" She questioned, feeling rested and stronger. The mech gazed outside into the rain. "I couldn't stand to remain with the Decepticons." Hope gazed up at the mech's pained expression. "Why don't you become an Autobot?" The mech glanced at her with his optics glimmering in amusement. "Because giving up on my kind isn't the same as becoming one of yours. Hope nodded in understanding and wiggled off his chest. She felt his gaze as she walked to the entrance and sat, staring into the pouring rain. The rain was bringing up so many memories of her father as well as the dream she continued to have.

"What's wrong little one?" She shrugged off his hand gently. "I told you of my problems little one, now you should tell me." Hope couldn't fight a small smile tugging at her lips that came up but it fell. "I'm just a little confused right now. My adopted father has been so busy and I've been so lonely. I don't remember most of the team and I feel so awkward spending time with them. I've also been thinking about my father and I doubt he is my true father. I barely look like him and I've been having a reoccurring dream with the voice of a mech that sounds nothing like him. I don't think my mother would truly love a mech that would beat her; she was too smart for that. I don't know, maybe I'm just imagining it, but I don't think my 'father' is actually my father." It felt good to finally talk without being interrupted.

She had been so alone she had forgotten what it felt like to be supported. The mech took a while to respond as he thought. "Why do you not remember your comrades?" Hope took in a deep breath. "My 'father' attempted to kill me as he had dozens of times before, but this time her meat my helm so badly it caused CPU damage." She felt the mech tense in rage. "Is that why you have a crack in your helm?" She nodded at the mech's question. The mech placed his hand on her back. "No mech should harm a femme as he did. Little one, I will protect you, whenever you need it." She gazed into his optics and saw the truth in his optics.

She leaned against the mech, feeling protection radiation from him. "Something else is bothering you little one." She nodded and sighed. "The connection between my adopted father and I has changed. He's been so distant the past few weeks, though he hasn't meant to. Now he feels more like brother than a father." The mech rubbed her back. "I'm sure he has your best interests at spark." The femme nodded weakly. "Yeah." "There's a little clearing in the canyon straight ahead, I will be there daily, if you wish to visit." Hope smiled. "I'd like that."

Shortly afterward, a routine began between the two. Every morning Hope would sneak out of the base and spend the day with the mech she eventually learned was Dreadwing. She adored spending time with the mech and he became another father figure and mentor. The started their daily meeting byt chatting and enjoying good weather and gradually, Dreadwing began giving her lessons. The mech taught her how to fight, to read and write Cybertronian, how to strategize and how to control her ability. Both enjoyed learning and teaching in a delicate balance while the pair interacted. When Hope received her doorwings, the mech was just as happy as she, knowing the feeling of getting wings back.

During her lessons, she became leaner, stronger, faster, and, as Smokescreen predicted, she went through a growth spurt. She didn't grow much, just a couple feet, not much by Cybertronian standards, but it was enough for bots to notice. She went through several days of growing pains, and while Smokescreen wanted to be with her, Dreadwing was the bot that sat beside her, rubbing her back in an attempt to ease her pain while she lied curled up in a tight ball. Her closeness to Dreadwing increased as the days passed and she vented to him constantly. His support brought up her confidence.

She began spending time with the humans and Bumblebee when not visiting Dreadwing, without feeling awkward. However, she grew nervous when training as the bots would notice she could suddenly fight and ask her where she learned to fight. She usually shrugged off the question but she knew Ratchet noticed the changes. She learned her T-cog, the part that allowed bots to transform, had full developed and when she informed Dreadwing, he was elated. After taking her flying, he told her she had 'flier's energon' running through her and was meant to be one, though she wasn't so convinced.

She did enjoy flying though, and she had already determined Libel was not her father, so she considered it a possibility. She was happy that Smokescreen would be escorting her to scan a vehicle. Dreadwing was as well. He knew how much the mech meant to her and this was a huge milestone. Hope enjoyed everything Dreadwing offered, but she feared their friendship was going to be cut short soon.


	29. Red Handed

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Hope." The little femme stopped immediately and glanced up at Smokescreen. She thought the entrance would be empty as she snuck back in, but her doorwings lowered when she saw Ratchet and Optimus Prime standing behind him and all three held serious expressions. She forced a sweet smile, knowing full well she was caught. Smokescreen approached with a jumble of emotions that Hope couldn't pick through. "Hope, where were you today?" He asked firmly. "I was just outside exploring." She lied, hoping her would believe her, but doubting it. "Hope." His tone and expression told her that he knew she was lying.

She shifted nervously and looked down. "I was spending time with Dreadwing…" The elder bots tensed. "Hope, I do not want you seeing Dreadwing any longer." Optimus Prime ordered. She opened her mouth to protest; to tell him they were close, that they didn't do anything bad, something, but she closed her mouth with a soft, "Yes sir." He doorwings lowered and her helm hung as she watched Ratchet disappear into his medical bay and Smokescreen leave. She was left alone with their leader.

Hope squirmed beneath his gaze and stiffened as he closed the distance. He settled on his knee and lowered his body so he was optics level with her. "Did you inform him of the location of the base?" "Of course not sir, I would never do that." Hope replied as he released a tense intake. He stood tall and gazed down at her. "How did your 'meetings' start?" The mech paused at 'meetings' as if trying to find the proper word. "One day, I snuck out of the base to actually explore because I was lonely. Smokescreen was busy and everyone else was too. Anyway, it started raining and I hid in a was in there too and he scared me so I fled into the rain. He pulled me back in soon after and we started talking, well I did."

Optimus gave a slow blink and she took that as a sign that he understood. "What did you do when you would meet with him?" "For a little, we were talking, talking about anything that came to mindand eventually the days turned to reviews and lessons." "Lessons?" Optimus pressed. She nodded. "Yes sir. He taught me to fight, find weak spots, he showed me Cybertronian literature, he even taught me how to shoot and fight with a knife. There was a lot more stuff he taught me too." Optimus paused in his response. His stern expression hadn't changed and it worried her.

"Did he learn of your ability?" Hope nodded. "Yes sir, but he showed me ways to control it and I've been practicing." "Did he tell any other bot?" She heard a hint of worry in his voice. "I don't think so sir." He seemed relieved. "Why did you continue?" Hope paused, contemplating his answer. "At first, I think it was because I was lonely. As time passed we became closer and Smokescreen became distant. I started thinking of Smoke as a brother." "And Dreadwing as a father?" He questioned. She nodded. "Yes." "Did he ever harm you purposefully?" Hope was surprised by his question. "Never, he hated the fact Libel abused me."

"Why was he not with the Decepticons?" Hope paused again to think. "He told me he felt betrayed by the Decepticons. I asked him if he wanted to come to the Autobots but he said he couldn't join us either so I let it be." Optimus gave her a single nod and his posture relaxed. An unsettling silence fell upon the pair as Optimus move to the computer temporarily. Hope chewed on her lip, gazing up at the mech's back. "Optimus?" The mech stopped and focused on her. "Yes Hope?" She shifted and glanced at the floor. "Am I going to be punished?" "Yes, you are little one. As I asked Smokescreen, do you understand why?"

Hope took in a deep intake and nodded. "Because he was a Decepticon and I'm an Autobot and I shouldn't be making friends with the enemy." She sighed with her doorwings limp. "You still have much to learn little one." He sank down to her level. "Hope, as a leader, I care for every bot under my command, even you. I worry every day for your well-being and when a bot is injured, as a leader, I blame myself. I dislike seeing bots I command putting themselves in unnecessary danger. Dreadwing's honor and respect prevents him from harming you, I know this, but not all bots are Dreadwing. I understand you're a very social bot, and you need social interaction, but try to remain with the Autobots for now. Okay little one?" Hope nodded quietly and Optimus gave a rare smile. He stood proudly to his full height but Hope no longer felt intimidated by the large mech.

"As for your punishment, considering the situation, your honesty and seeing as this is your first offence, you shall be confined to your quarters for a week. The only reason you may leave your quarters is if an elder bot summons you for lessons. If you are found without an escort or outside, I will lengthen the time to Smokescreen's end of confinement. Understood?" Hope nodded. "Yes sir." "Will you enforce the punishment yourself?" "Yes sir." Hope nodded again. "You may leave." She nodded once more and turned to leave. She paused at the hallway when Optimus spoke. "Hope, if you wish to say goodbye tomorrow, come back before sundown. If you do, I will not punish you." Hope thanked him quietly with a light smile and retreated to her room.


	30. Cut Short

_AN: Hope, Libel, Aspire and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Daddy, it's time to get up. You're almost late." To her surprise, Smokescreen stirred and his helm turned to the clock. His optics widened and he jumped up. "Oh scrap!" He kissed the top of her helm. "Thank you little one." He shook the sleep from his frame. "You know the drill Hope." She nodded once. He gave her a quick goodbye and darted out of the room. Hope sighed and settled on the berth. She was meeting Dreadwing today for the last time but she wanted to make a stop before she did so. She waited for a short time before slipping out of the room and heading to the medical bay. She relaxed when she found the room empty except for the medic and she guessed Open Sea had been released; she approached Ratchet cautiously, not knowing if he would turn her in.

"Ratchet?" She spoke hesitantly. The mech turned to her from his desk. "Yes little one?" "Can I ask you something?" She gazed up at him innocently. "Of course little one." He turned his full attention to her. She breathed in deeply to steady her nerves. "Ratchet, is Libel my real father?" The mech stiffened somewhat. "Follow me." She tailed him to the computer and he began typing on it, too quickly for her to comprehend but her jaw dropped when he stopped. The medic pulled upp the record of her sparking and the name on the mech sparkgiver area was not Libel's. "Concord." Hope whispered the name quietly. "Do, you have any pictures?"

He nodded and opened an incredibly grainy picture. "This is the only picture I found; his records were lost in the war." Hope ignored his statement, too focused on the picture to care. She was unable to see the details of the mech but the blazing mint green optics of the mech caught her optic first. She always thought she received her odd colored optic colour from her mother, as the femmes on Aspire's side had lighter shades of green than the previous femme but she couldn't deny the evidence that pointed to her father.

She did, however, know now she received her armour colours from Aspire. His mainly dark brown armour did not match her own and even the royal blue didn't. His protofrom seemed to be grey with crimson and black running through it. She ached to see the details of the mech but the blurry picture would be fine for now. "So Libel was never my father?" She looked up at Ratchet, who nodded. "Yes, he was a step-father." The medic walked to his desk and pulled something from a drawer. He brought it back and handed it to her. "Your mother always figured you would discover the truth for yourself, so she left me with this to give to you when you did."

Hope studied the datapad and her tank flipped at a sudden thought. "Mom knew something was going to happen, didn't she?" Ratchet released a tense sigh. "I believe so little one." Hope gazed down at the datapad. "She was always smart like that." She breathed. Ratchet rubbed her shoulder gently and motioned to a berth to sit and read. The young femme nodded and walked to the berth. She settled on the berth and turned on the datapad. With a deep breath, she read.

Hope rushed to the clearing in the canyon that she and Dreadwing used for a meeting place, flinching at the thunder that cracked across the dark foreboding sky. She ran hard, struggling to get to Dreadwing before the rain started. Despite running as fast she could, it began raining and by the time she reached the clearing, she was sopping wet and her legs were caked with mud. Dreadwing waited for her in his usual spot and he looked up as she stumbled to him. "I need to tell you something." She panted. The mech nodded but motioned to the cave. "Let's get somewhere dry first."

Hope agreed and they trekked to the cave. She shook herself off when she entered and Dreadwing did as well. The large mech plopped down and leaned on the wall as Hope settled in front of him. "You said you needed to tell me something." The mech rumbled bluntly. Hope shifted with a sad sigh. "Our encounters were found out." "I see." The mech sounded uneasy. "Were you punished too badly?" She shook her helm. "No, just a week confined to my quarters, unless someone gets me for lessons." The elder bot gave her a gentle smile. "Was that it?" Hope shifted quietly and pulled her knees to her chest.

"Optimus told me I was no longer allowed to spend time with you. Today is my last day to be with you." She added. Dreadwing reached over and brushed away her tears. "Well, little one, I've come to a personal decision and I think today will be my last day with you as well." Her spark fell and her doorwings lowered. "Oh, I see. I hope it's important." "It is little one." He promised. She crawled to him and settled in his lap, resting her helm on his chest. The deep thrumming eased her worries and soothed the pain in her spark. She would miss the royal blue mech.

"Little one, I have something for you." He shifted and pulled something from his subspace. He handed it to her and her optics widened. She pulled the blade a few inches from the sheath and studied the gleaming blade. It was about half the length of her forearm and looked to be made of strong Cybertronian metals. "It's beautiful." She breathed, examining the decrative engraving on the smooth metal of the sheath and strap. "I figured you would enjoy it. I know how hard it was for you to shoot, and with practice, I know it will become easier for you, but I saw how naturally you shifted to knives and shorts swords. It's a great skill to know."

Hope smiled happily and hugged his neck. "Thank you Dreadwing. I'll take care of it how you showed me to, and I'll keep it forever." The mech smiled and stroked her doorwings gently. She relaxed instantly into his touch contently. The pair relaxed together, enjoying one another's company but Hope was beginning to become anxious as time passed. She didn't know the time and she didn't want to be confined for three weeks. She watched the rain fall quietly, with sickening feeling washing over her. "What's wrong little one?" Dreadwing asked. "I don't-" She gasped as a flash of lightning illuminated a very familiar form.

"No." She whimpered and scrambled behind Dreadwing. "What's wrong?" The mech's voice became serious. "Libel." She whispered in reply. Dreadwing stiffened and gazed outside. He stood and slipped into the rain. "Libel." He snarled and the other mech turned to him. "Ah, Dreadwing, taking care of my disgusting spawn I see." Libel snorted. Dreadwing's wings flared angrily. "Why are you here?" "I'm here for my daughter." He grunted. "I'm not your daughter!" Hope burst and both mechs started. Libel glared at her. "What do you mean you lying slagger?" "Mom pretended to love you and acted as if you were my father so you wouldn't beat her while she carried me!" She cried.

Libel looked positively enraged. "She loved me you little fragger." Hope snorted. "Mom didn't love you, she never did. She lied to you to prevent you from harming her." Her step-father emitted a fierce roar and charged towards her, only to have Dreadwing stop him. The royal blue mech drew his massive broadsword. "This ends now." Libel backed off and drew his own sword. "I was thinking the same thing." Both mechs glared and circled one another before charging forward with enraged roars.


	31. Ended

_AN: Hope, Libel, Aspire and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, Dreadwing and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Thunder boomed as the titans clashed and Hope bolted deeper into the cave. The mechs rippled with strength and hate as their blades clashed and Hope believed Libel was evenly matched. Her step-father might have been more agile, but Dreadwing was more intelligent and towered over Libel. Hope tensed as Libel emitted a roar of frustration and swiped as Dreadwing in a strained manner. The blue mech easily parried the blow and slashed at Libel's helm. The smaller mech jerked back just far enough to avoid being decapitated, but the tip of the blade slashed across his face. He staggered back with a strained cry, glaring at Dreadwing.

Both mechs glared at one another, panting and circling one another in the mud. "I see you're not used to feeling pain." Dreadwing rumbled. Libel growled in annoyance. "I bet your pampered aft can't handle pain." "Says the mech that cried in pain from a little cut." Dreadwing was just as good at egging a bot on as Libel. Hope bit back her laugh but her optics widened as Libel charged towards her. She cried out when the mech grabbed her roughly and flung her at Dreadwing. The blue mech was forced to drop his blade in order to catch her. Neither expected Libel to rush them, blade raised and ready for attack.

Dreadwing dodged the main swipe but sank to his knee with a bellow as Libel's blade sliced open his wing in a cheap shot. "Not as strong as what you think you are, huh?" Libel grunted at him. Dreadwing placed Hope on the ground and she fled to the cave at his command. The blue mech stood proudly with a bleading wing but realized Libel blocked him from his blade. "If you want your sword, you'll have to fight me for it." Libel readied himself and Dreadwing charged. Hope huddled in the cave behind a massive rock, helplessly watching the two mechs brawl.

Libel continued to strike Dreadwing's wings and use his blade while Dreadwing became enraged. His blows were strong and dazed Libel but the cuts from Libel's blade covered the blue mechs frame. The larger mech finally broke from Libel's beating and snagged his sword. Both mechs paused once more, staring each other down and catching their breath. Hope began worrying for Dreadwing and her sureness that he could win was fading. Libel continuously used cheap shots by attacking Dreadwing's wings and Hope felt the blue mech tiring. The tables were turning, in Libel's favour. "Give up?" Libel growled. "Never." Dreadwing snorted.

Libel rushed the blue mech swiftly but he easily blocked Libel's slash. Once more, the pair fell into a dance of clanging swords, angered cries and squelching mud. Determination and rage fueled Dreadwing and his strikes grew stronger. Hope was somewhat relieved when she felt his determination, but she was still helpless to help him. Libel could see it as well and a smirk tugged at his lips. "Determined to save that little wench, huh? Disgusting!" Libel lunged forward with a diagonal slash but Dreadwing easily blocked with his own powerful swipe and when the blades connected, Libel's blade shattered.

Libel stared at the splintered chunk of metal that remained from his blade and his expression of shock turned to rage. "You bastard!" he roared and tackled the blue mech. With a burst of strength, Dreadwing was thrown fiercely and smashed into the cave entrance. The rock cracked and groaned and large chunks fell from the ceiling. Hope squealed as the compacted earth crashed around her and a distressed cry escaped her lips as a stone crushed her leg, severely dislocating her knee. She felt Dreadwing's terror and could barely see him through the churned up dust but he worried for her. "Little one, are you-" He cut off with a cry of pain and the sounds of battle started again.

Hope panted heavily, coughing as her systems took in the dust, and struggled to escape her prison. Her knife was out of reach and she realized she was trapped. Hope rested her helm on the earth floor with a groan of pain as the movement jolted her pinned leg. The pain was some of the worse she ever felt and her tank was beginning to churn. She hated feeling sick but her worry for Dreadwing worsened it. The dust finally settled, clearing her vision and Hope watched the clash, truly unable to defend herself. She struggled again to haul herself out but only made pain sear up to her hip and down to her pede. Terror settled in when she realized she might be trapped forever. She hated the idea and it made her fear worse.

She was distracted by a heavy thud and she found her step-father pinned by Dreadwing's pede. She sensed the fight just became a lot more serious. "Why don't you do it mech?" Libel hissed. "You've become so much like an Autonbot it's sickening." He added with a snarl. Dreadwing growled at him and his blade hovered over Libel's chest. "Go ahead, kill me, I know you don't have the guts. It would be dishonorable to kill a defenseless mech." Dreadwing snorted. "You're not defenseless." Libel smirked. "True, but she is." Libel turned towards her and his arm shifted into a cannon. He blasted above the cave and Hope squealed as the cave collapsed further in chunks around her.

Her life was spared but she forced her optics offline to protect from the massive cloud of dust. All she heard was Dreadwing's enraged roar and her step-father's roar of agony. She expected the worse until she heard Libel's uneven panting. "You are a dishonorable mech Libel and you are going to die that way." Dreadwing rumbled. The mech's tone sent chills up her spine until she forced her optics online as the dirt settle. Her optics widened at the sight of Libel with Dreadwing's sword sunk deep into the mech's abdomen. She barely saw them through the gap in the caved in boulders, but she heard them easily. Both bots were breathing heavily and Hope was surprised to see an emotion she never thought she would see on Libel's face; fear.

"If you're going to kill me, do it!" Libel barked, showing his denta in pain. "No." Dreadwing spoke firmly. "I wish to make you suffer as you made Hope suffer for years." Libel writhed and howled in agony as Dreadwing drug the blade down his abdomen and the smell of freshly spilled energon hit Hope. She groaned softly and put her helm down once more, offlining her optics as her mind spun. She listened to Libel's agonized screams as Dreadwing tortured him and a new sensation washed over her, the sensation of revenge. Now the mech knew what it felt like to be her after all the years.

Her optics onlined after several minutes of Libel's cries of agony and she enjoyed watching the mech thrash. Dreadwing drew his sword from Libel after about another quarter hour, feeling he was finished. Libel's energon soaked the earth and Dreadwing's blade, but the mech was unfazed. The blue mech's blade hovered over Libel's spark as the smaller mech glared up defiantly. "This ends now." Dreadwing growled. Libel's cry was cut off and his body went rigid as the blade plunged through his spark. His body fell limp suddenly and slumped to the grouns as his body turned death grey.

Hope felt Dreadwing's accomplishment as he stood above the fallen mech, but it quickly turned to worry. He rushed to the cave and ripped out the rocks that fell from the small cave in. Somehow the boulders fell in a way that didn't crush her and left a space for her to watch Libel's death. Hope felt the occurrences were an act of fate. She felt Dreadwing's worry turn to fear from his search and she felt his relief when she responded to his desperate cry of her name. "Thank Primus." He breathed when he saw her. He rested his hand against her cheek and she rubbed her cheek against his hand.

The mech heaved a relieved sigh and attempted to haul her out, only to have Hope cry out in agony. Dreadwing stopped and noticed the boulder pinning her leg, he apologized quickly. "It's okay." Hope reassured him as the mech pulled the blade off her leg and held her gently. Hope grimaced as he placed his hands on her knee. "I need to pop you knee back into place little one. This will hurt sweetspark." Hope tensed but nodded. "Okay." She readied herself but it didn't stop the agony of her tormented howl when he snapped her lower leg into place. She panted heavily and slumped against him.

She was surprised at the pain that was brought on by a simple action and the pain she felt from Dreadwing made it worse. "Are you feeling alright?" Dreadwing asked. Hope nodded and gazed out of the cover quietly. The rain stopped but Libel still lied in the mud. Hope struggled to her feet, to Dreadwing's surprise and she stumbled to her step-father's body. She settled onto her knees, despite her bad one screaming in agony, and studied the mech's lifeless body. "He really is dead…" She whispered. Dreadwing sat beside her and rested hand on her back. "I'm sorry little one…"

Hope hauled herself to the mech and hugged his neck tightly. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she buried her face in his neck. "Thank you." She whispered. "What do you mean?" He asked in surprise. She pulled back and gazed into his optics. "I can finally sleep without being plagued by nightmares. I can go anywhere without being terrified that he is there too. I can finally live my life without him attempting to kill me." She rested her helm on his shoulder. "Thank you." She felt Dreadwing's happiness spread to her. "Come, you need to rest." The blue mech picked her up and carried her to the cave. She flinched when he placed her on the cave floor and jostled her knee. The mech gave her knife to her and Hope attached it to her thigh so she wouldn't lose it. Dreadwing helped her get comfortable and when she passed out, she didn't fear anything.

* * *

Smokescreen groaned as he approached his room, even his doorwings ached from the massive amount of work he had done today. He yearned to flop down on his berth and recharge but his plans were halted when he entered his room. Hope was gone and she hadn't left a note. He chewed on his lip worriedly, as the time was near midnight. He knew she would only leave the room for lessons as she would honor Optimus' orders but that just raised more questions. He knew she wasn't with Ratchet, as he had been working for the mech most of the day. Arcee didn't like her and Optimus was busy.

He commed Bumblebee first, as he was her best friend, but his worry increased when the younger mech told him he hadn't seen her all day. He commed the rest of the team, including Open Sea, but none of them had seen her. As the time neared midnight, he finally went to Optimus. "Optimus?" The leader paused at his question and gazed down at him. "Yes Smokescreen?" He rumbled. "Hope is gone. She's not in her room and the others haven't seen her all day." Optimus Prime nodded seriously. "We shall start searching. I fear something might have happened." Smokescreen nodded weakly and gulped. He hoped his baby was okay.


	32. Resting

_AN: Hope, Libel, Aspire and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_Mild OCxCanon fluff ahead_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Hope! Hope! Hope, sweetspark where are you?" The little femme stirred at the mech's voice in the distance, echoing down the canyon and she lifted her helm weakly to focus on the source of the voice. It was dawn and Dreadwing was gone. He attempted to make her comfortable before he left though, turning her to her left side, propping her right knee and covering it with a light blanket. Her knife remained strapped to her right thigh but she still felt lonely. "Smokescreen." Optimus Prime's voice brought her back to searching for her father figure. "I do not believe she is here." Silence before Smokescreen replied. "No, no, she's here, I can feel it!" Ratchet spoke. "There is a possibility Dreadwing took her." "No! No! She's here." Smokescreen protested.

Silence came once more and the mech's sobbing approached with his footfalls. "Daddy." Hope finally found her voice after listening to them. Stillness and she wasn't sure if he heard her. "Daddy!" She squealed as loudly as her vocalizer would allow. The footfalls quickened then paused. "Hope?" "Daddy!" Her cry sounded a bit desperate. She heard his rush to find her and finally she saw him outside the cave, a shocked expression as he stumbled upon Libel's body. "Hope?" His worry filled her own spark and she eased it as much as she could. "Daddy, in here." His helm snapped up and his optics locked with her tired optics.

"Primus Hope." He breathed and darted to her. He picked her up gently and she flinched. "What's wrong?" He eased her back onto the floor and inspected her for damage while she propped herself up with the blanket. "My knee." She replied, stretching out her knee as much as she could. It hurt but she found it easier to become comfortable. "A rock fell on it and dislocated it." The mech gave her a look of sympathy and hugged her gently. "Doc bot'll help you." She relaxed when he kissed the top of her helm, standing slowly then leaving the cave. "Ratchet, Optimus, I found her!" He called out and within a few minutes, the two bots came to the cave.

Smokescreen must have spoken to Ratchet further by using his communication link because the medic immediately approached her. Ratchet looked her over then focused on her knee. He coaxed her to flex the knee, causing her to cry out and Smokescreen tensed from his paternal instincts. The white mech spoke to Optimus while Ratchet's expression became nervous. He scanned the throbbing joint and Hope shivered at the odd sensation passing over her knee. "What's wrong?" She asked tentatively, nervous of what he was going to find. "Well Hope." He paused and gazed at the readings. "Not only did the boulder dislocate your knee, but it also fractured your upper leg strut, pretty severely." He traced the path of the fracture, from just above her knee up several inches, making Hope grimace.

"What will that mean?" She asked nervously. "You will definitely be restricted to your berth for the next week as it heals, maybe two if it heals slowly. You'll only be allowed to leave with bots that can support your weight." He responded calmly. Hope nodded quietly. "At least it's only for a week or so. I'm already confined to the room for that time." She spoke quietly. "I'm not sure if the amount of time will remain the same now. Optimus may lengthen it." "But-" The medic stopped her protest. "That's something you'll have to discuss with Optimus, Hope. I can't help you." Hope nodded quietly with a heavy sigh. She hated the idea of being punished further, even though she had stayed out later than Optimus allowed. She hadn't been able to get back because of her rain that quickly followed Libel's death and her knee, but if Optimus wanted to lengthen her punishment, she understood.

"Ratchet." Optimus Prime rumbled, and it worried her as the medic looked up. "I wish to speak with Hope, alone." Ratchet nodded with a, "Yes sir." and joined Smokescreen outside the cave, examining Libel's body. Hope shrank beneath the leader's gaze as he ducked into the cave. "Hope." The deep rumbling of the mech made her cower in fear. Her helm and doorwings lowered and she turned her helm away, looking away. "Yes sir?" She whispered. "Hope, look at me." Trembling, she forced herself to gaze into his stern expression. "You remember your curfew for yesterday, correct?" The young femme nodded weakly, gulping softly. "You realize I was expecting you to return at that time, correct?" Another nod.

"Then you understand why I am increasing your punishment to four weeks." He stated with a voice holding a tone that showed he wanted no protesting. "But I couldn't get back! I wanted to but I caught in the rain and my knee was injured." She protested softly. Optimus stopped her with a raised hand. "I know you were injured and there was rain, but you could have chosen a different day to say goodbye." Hope stared at the floor. "You said I could say goodbye today, and when I left it wasn't raining. I would have returned if the rain hadn't started." She replied in a truthful tone. "You should have expected rain with dark clouds." The leader replied coldly.

This time, she fell silent and her shoulders slumped. "I should have Sir." She whispered; then flinched away from the leader as he reached for something at her side. She didn't realize she had been rubbing the polished grip of her present while they spoke, but she quickly covered it with the blanket. "Hope, what is that?" Optimus questioned. She hesitated before undoing the strap and pulling the knife from under the blanket, handing it to him reluctantly. "DReadwing gave it to me as a gift." She added. The leader took the blade and examined it closely after unsheathing it. "Much too small to have killed Libel." He stated. "Dreadwing killed him." Hope told him quietly.

Optimus paused and gazed at her at the statement. "We were in here and Libel appeared. The broke into a fight and Dreadwing defeated Libel. Dreadwing protected me." She explained, gazing at her knife in hopes of getting it back. "How were you injured?" Optimus asked seriously. Hope guessed Ratchet hadn't told him how she was injured. "Libel threw Dreadwing into the opening of the cave and loose rocks fells." The mech nodded and returned her knife. "I do not want you to visit him, ever again." He ordered. "He told me her was no longer going to come here." She replied softly. Opyimus nodded again and straightened as much as he could. "You're punishment remains the same." He said bluntly. She felt his disappointment as he exited the cave.

Smokescreen entered directly afterwards and looked relived. "Feeling okay little one?" Hope nodded quietly and put the knife back on her thigh. "Doc told me it was fractured." He murmured and rested his hand tenderly on her knee. She shrugged and squeaked in surprise when he cupped her cheek. He gazed into her optics and kissed her forehelm. "This time Hope, I promise I'll be there for you more. I'll spend time with you and try to do whatever you want. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." He whispered and Hope guessed Optimus told him about her reasons to spend time with Dreadwing. Hope rested her forehelm on his then rubbed her cheek against him. "Thank you Daddy." She hugged him tearfully. "I missed you." "I missed you too." He whispered and helped her to her to her feet, putting the blanket Dreadwing left in his subspace. "Let's get going little one; the others have already headed home."

* * *

A quiet knocking startled Hope from staring at the ceiling in total bordom and she propped herself up on an elbow. "Come in." The door squeaked open and Bumblebee poked his helm in. _'Hi Hope.'_ She smiled lightly. "Hi Bumblebee." The young mech paused. _'Can you understand me?'_ He whirred quietly. Hope nodded. "Yeah, I understand you now. I remember your special language." The mech's bright optics widened and he beeped happily. He came to her side and sat at her level. Their forehelms met and they rubbed their cheeks together in sync. _'I can't believe you remember me.'_ The mech's happiness was growing on Hope. "I know. It came to me in a dream. Sounds cliché but it happened." She smiled.

_'Well, I'm glad you did.'_ He settled to her right and rubbed her doorwing. _'Doesn't it hurt to lie on your back?'_ He questioned. "A little bit, but this is the most comfortable position for my knee. Plus," She motioned to the brace Ratchet made to keep it still. "With that thing, it's hard to shift positions." The mech gazed at her knee before looking at her. _'I'll help you.' _Hope thanked him after he eased her to her side. He propped her knee up with a pillow and covered her with a blanket. _'Why are your legs still covered with mud? Have you not taken a shower?'_ "Yeah, I can only leave with just a few bots and none of those bots have come to take me to the shower." She explained.

_'I'm guessing I'm not one of those bots, huh?' _The femme nodded with a sigh. _'We could sneak there.'_ The young mech offered but Hope shook her helm. "Optimus would probably catch us and I don't feel like getting in trouble, plus I've already disappointed him enough." Bumblebee gave her a sympathetic whir and massaged her doorwings. _'What's wrong?'_ He asked at her silence. "I'm just a little lonely." She murmured. _'Is there anything you want me to do?'_ The yellow and black mech always surprised her with her kindness. "I don't think so." She paused. "Wait, can you push the nightstand closer?" She pointed to the one filled with datapads, but it was out of her reach.

The mech nodded and did what she asked, moving the nightstand close enough so she didn't have to shift much to pick one. _'What's on that?'_ He asked curiously. "Kid movies." Hope replied. "Raf was nice enough to download movies onto them so I could watch them." The yelloe mech burst with pride at the mention of his human partner. _'Raf is such a kind human.' _He whirred happily. "Yes he is." Hope agreed and picked out a movie. "You want to watch a movie with me?" _'Sure.'_ Bumblebee settled behind her, covering himself with an extra blanket. _'What movie are we watching?'_ He asked. "_The Lion King_." She replied as Bumblebee rested his chin on her shoulder. She used his left arm as a pillow and settled in to watch the movie.

* * *

Smokescreen's optics widened at the sight of Hope and Bumblebee cuddled together and recharging. He was surprised the pair rekindled their friendship, with Hope still adjusting to the base. His doorwings lowered at the realization that his little femme was growing up. Seeing Hope so peaceful and content, Smokescreen couldn't bring himself to wake the pair, despite his jealousy, so he simply walked over, turned off the running datapad and left.

* * *

The coldness of an empty berth woke Hope from her recharge and her spark sank when she found her room empty. Smokescreen hadn't come to see her but finding the datapad off and on the nightstand made her second-guess herself; then again Bumblebee could have done the same thing. With a disheartened sigh, she pushed off the blanket and stared at the wall. Her helm popped up at the sound of the door opening and Bumblebee's expression appeared just as surprised as her own. _'Hope, I wasn't expecting you to wake up so early.'_ He came to her side and set the cube of energon down. "I always wake up early." She replied with a soft smile. _'You were recharging so deeply, I thought you would recharge for longer. Anyway, I brought you some energon. I figured you would be hungry.'_ He tipped his helm to the side cutely and his optics smiled.

"Thank you Bee." She smiled brighter and drank he energon. The mech helped her rollover and made her comfortable. She was happy tucked against his chest as he rubbed her shoulders and doorwings. She felt safe and protected while the mech she considered an older brother helped relax her. About ten minutes passed before Bumblebee stopped and sat up. "You want to watch the rest of the movie?" She asked and he shook his helm. _'I'm sorry, but I have to go.' _Hope sighed sadly. "Okay." The mech apologized and went to leave, but she stopped him. "Wait, Bee." He paused. "Come here for just a second." He returned and settled beside her. _'Yeah?'_ He asked. She propped herself up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for spending time with me." She smiled at the blush that flooded his childlike face. He scrambled to his feet in a flush and left quickly.


	33. Hidden

_AN: Hope, Libel, the mystery femme and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_More mild OCxCanon fluff, don't worry it doesnt get serious_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Hope, you feeling alright baby?" The young femme's optics fluttered oline and focused on Smokescreen. She gave him a content smile, feeling perfectly happy and fine. "M'hm." She felt no pain from her knee or her body; she felt great. "Ratchet gave you some pain medicine, didn't he?" She nodded happily and sighed softly. "That's good, I know you were hurting." He settled beside her. "I talked to Doc mot and he said as soon as you heal up, we can find you an alternant form." "Really?" Hope asked a bit sleepily, but still surprised. "Yeah, Ratchet said Optimus wanted to cut our punishments short because there's something big is about to happen and he wants us to be prepared." He explained. "Do you know what it is?" She asked, looking up at him. He shook his helm.

"All I know is it's something big." The little femme nodded and settled back down. She gazed at her blankets, yearning to use them, but unwilling to get them dirty. She was still covered with dry, caked on mud and energon but with the pain medication still in effect, she didn't mind being covered in dirt. Smokescreen lied down beside her, facing her and rubbed her cheek. She purred happily at his action and melted to his touch. "When you heal, I will personally take you to get a shower." She smiled quietly. "Thank you Daddy." She wiggled forward and their forehelms met gently; then slide to rubbing their cheeks together. "Love you sweetspark." He murmured. "Love you too Daddy." She hummed.

* * *

"Come on Hope, just one more." The young femme tipped her helm back and groaned. "That's what you said the last nine times." She moaned as Smokescreen helped her flex her healing knee as a part of her physical therapy. "Well, this time, I mean it." He promised, allowing her to extend her knee. "Grab the soap and towels and let's go take a shower." The bright smile on Smokescreen's face eased her annoyance and she nodded. "Finally, I can get this mud off me." She rolled off the berth and limped to the cabinet that held the soaps and towels, grateful she could walk again. She smiled, seeing a new bottle that smelled more 'masculine' and guessed Jack might have bought it.

She grabbed both bottles and a couple towels, then hobbled back to Smokescreen. The mech smiled at her but he still felt his worry. "I'm fine Smokey, I promise. It's just stiff from not using it. I'm just glad it's healing well." "Same here sweetspark." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "When you get your alt. form, I'm going to be happier." He told her. Hope's smile brightened, feeling his blooming pride as well. "My little girl's growing up." She heard him whisper. She gave him a gentle squeeze and fought the bigger smile tugging on her lips. "It's okay Daddy, I'm not grown up just yet." The mech looked down at her and gave her a sad smile. "True, but you're getting there, slowly."

As they came around the corner, Bumblebee was leaving the washroom, his optics widening momentarily, startled to see her walking, but they quickly melted to the bright optics she knew well. _'Hope, it's good to see you walking again!'_ She embraced the young mech's hug. "It's good to be walking again." She breathed. "I remembered his language in a dream." She explained to a confused Smokescreen. He nodded in understanding. _'So what brings you out?'_ Bumblebee asked. She motioned to her mud coated frame. "I needed a shower and optimus eased the restrictions of our punishments." The yellow and black mech tipped his helm to the side. _'Really? Why?'_ "I don't know, he just wants us to be prepared. He's already started me on more lessons with Ratchet and Bulkhead." The mech's optics smiled. _'That's great to hear. I think you'll be a great medic.'_

"Thank you." She smiled and turned when a new voice came. "Come on Bee! You're missing out on videogames!" _'I'm coming Miko.'_ The scout promised the human teen. The human female noticed Hope standing. "Well, Raf's going to be happy you're standing. Since Ratchet told him you were hurt, he's been worrying nonstop." Hope was more than a little surprised and she looked at Bumblebee as if to say, 'He has?' The young scout nodded but glanced at Miko as she impatiently crossed her arms. "Well, tell him I said hi and maybe I'll see him in a week or so." The human nodded once and glance at Bumblebee. He gave Hope a helpless shrug and hugged her one last time.

_'Bye Hope.'_ He rubbed his cheek against hers and flicked his doorwings in goodbye as he pulled away. She flicked her own in response and watched him leave with Miko; then found Smokescreen smirking down at her. "What?" She questioned defensively, doorwings tensed. "Nothing." He waved off her aggressiveness and entered the washroom, still with a smirk. Hope huffed angrily as she followed but it quickly disappeared as Smokescreen took the stuff from her and set up the stall. He turned the water on to a temperature that made her cuddle against him in content. Smokescreen chuckled. "Sweetspark, I can't clean your back if you're pressed against me." She smiled and pulled away, slipping into the warm water.

She shivered as the water washed over her frame then relaxed as Smokescreen scrubbed he back. She gazed down at the water, enjoying the fruity smell and massage-like scrubbing, finding the water a deep shade of mud brown. Smokescreen noticed as well and chuckled. "At least you're getting clean." Hope giggled at his statement and tipped her helm back happily. A shudder passed through her as Smokescreen moved to her doorwings and hit certain areas but Smokescreen didn't notice. He continued to scrub away as the odd sensations passed over her. She felt relieved when the mech finished and he handed her the rag.

He thanked him as he went to the next showerhead to her left. The mech started his shower while Hope scrubbed down her front. It took forever for her to get the mud off just her arms and even longer for her legs. Smokescreen finished his shower and had dried off halfway through her own, but he wasn't as dirty as she. The rag she used was soaked with mud and took several wrings to get it nearly the original colour but she was so happy to be clean. She turned off the water and flicked her doorwings to rid them of excess water while Smokescreen waited patiently. She decided not to tell him of the tingling sensations that passed through her when he touched her doorwings.

"You look much better now sweetspark." He smiled. "I know; I can actually see my armour now." She replied, glancing down at her now gleaming armour. "Come on, Ratchet wants to give you a checkup." Her doorwings lowered slightly. "Okay." She reluctantly agreed, wanting to go back to their quarters and relax her aching knee. Smokescreen helped her dry off and at her begging, gave her a piggyback ride to the medical bay. "Smokescreen, where's Ho-" The medic trailed off with a roll of his optics upon seeing Hope resting her chin on Smokescreen's shoulder. Hope made herself comfortable on a berth when Smokescreen let her down. Ratchet came to her very business-like and scanned her knee.

She tensed at the tingling sensation of the scanner, aching to shudder but she knew it would skew the results, so she shook her doorwings. "It seems as if you're healing well, a bit faster than expected but still well." Ratchet announced, closing his arm panel and looking at her, "Have you been working it with the physical therapy?" Hope nodded. "Staying off it when it hurts?" Another nod. "Good." The medic turned and typed some things into a datapad. "Hey, Hope, why don't you go get some energon?" The young femme glanced up at Smokescreen. "Okay." She murmured, sensing that he wanted to talk to Ratchet alone. Her doorwings slumped as she lowered herself off the berth and limped to the storage.

She felt abandoned and hurt by the mech. If he wanted to talk to Ratchet alone all he had to do was tell her he wanted, not send her on a stupid decoy. She sighed heavily as she came to the door and it opened. Her optics widened at the strange femme sneaking from the shadows. The femme tensed and stared at her with the same surprise as light flooded the room. Behind the strange femme's violet visor, Hope could see her optics flicking from Hope to behind her. Hope saw the torn up Decepticon symbol on the femme's mangled wings and she immediately reached for her knife. Hope wasn't expecting the femme's speed as the femme rushed forward and knocked her out cold with a fierce punch.


	34. Pay Back

_AN: Hope, Libel, mystery femme and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_Mild OCxCanon fluff_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Come on Hope, follow the light." Ratchet's voice penetrated her unconsciousness and her optics fluttered online. She flinched with a soft groan at the bright flashlight but she did as Ratchet told as the medic moved the flashlight to and fro. She felt his relief when she onlined her optics and followed the light. "She's online." He breathed, and Hope felt the relief of multiple bots, including Smokescreen's. "Easy now." Ratchet murmured as he helped her sit up. He shooed a bot back and held her gently. "What happened Hope?" He questioned. The young femme rubbed her forehelm painfully, wincing as she spoke, finding a busted lip.

"I was just getting energon when I found a femme in a storage room. She was just as surprised as I but the femme rushed me and knocked me out cold." "What did the femme look like?" Arcee's voice surprised her and she could hear her worry. "She was a deep brown with a tan colour on her lower arms." The tensed older femme relaxed and Hope leaned a bit more on Ratchet. "Come on Hope, I bet you smacked your helm hard on the floor." Ratchet stood and helped her up. "Let's get you to a berth for some rest." The bots around her backed off as the medic helped her to the medical bay and settled her on a berth.

"Rest little one." Hope nodded and let her optics drift offline. She awoke when something rubbed against her cheek. She knew of only two bots that would touch her cheek and only one brushed his cheek against hers. "Hey Bee." She smiled weakly, surprising the mech. His optics were filled with worry and he gave a soft whir, placing a finger against her split lip. She winced and he pulled away. "I'm okay Bee, honest." She gazed up at the mech with a brighter smile, as bright as she could muster. His worry lessoned and he rested his forehelm against hers. _'Raf says he wishes he could see you but he has a project to work on.'_ The young mech murmured.

Hope sighed sadly. "At least he's working on something for school." Bumblebee settled in a chair beside her. _'I brought you the stuffed animal Smokescreen got you.'_ He pulled Bounce from his subspace and handed him to her. Hope squealed happily and held the bunny close, rubbing her face in the soft fabric. She had completely forgotten about the soft animal. "Thank you Bee." She sat up slowly and kissed his cheek. He shrugged lightly like it wasn't a big thing, and looked away so Hope couldn't see the blush on his cheek. _'You're welcome.'_ He replied. Hope settled back down as Bumblebee pulled out her blanket and covered her with it gently. She thanked him again and snuggled beneath the covers, content to have Bumblebee at her side. She felt the mech's contentness and she allowed herself to rest.

The mech massaged her doorwings and Hope felt the same sensations she had with Smokescreen, but stonger. The tingles of warmth didn't hurt but they were new and alien to her, she forced herself not to panic, telling herself she would ask Ratchet or Smokescreen in the morning. She remained unnerved by the tingling traveling through her body, but thankfully, the mech stopped and the sensations faded. His touch had left her panting and trembling slightly though and Bumblebee became worried. _'Are you okay?'_ He asked. Hope nodded, relaxing. "Yeah, I 'm fine Bee." She replied as her body calmed. "Just feeling, a little, off, today." The mech studied her and rubbed his cheek against hers. _'Maybe you need some recharge.'_ He suggested.

She nodded in agreement. "Maybe…" She rolled over, curled up so her back was to him and settled down, glancing back at the mech as he made her comfortable. She held Bounce close and buried her face in the soft fluff allowing her frame to fall limp. She pretended to fall into recharge, but she could drift off. A long while passed and Hope felt Bumblebee rest on his elbows on the berth by her doorwings. Eventually, he rested his chin on her shoulder and relaxed. _'G'night Hope.' _ He whirred softly. His breathing slowed and she knew he had fallen into recharge. She smiled softly and, comforted by his warmth, fell into a content recharge with a sigh.

* * *

Hope wasn't surprised Bumblebee was gone when she awoke but the mech made her further comfortable by propping her leg and helm up with a pillow. She smiled softly and sat up slowly, stretching out. She enjoyed Bumblebee's mothering and was beginning to see him as a brother instead of a teammate, but her emotions were conflicting. She liked him a little more than just a brother but she realized he wouldn't like her in the same way she liked him. Even if he did, the mech would never act upon his feelings, he respected her too much. Her helm ached lightly in her confusion; she didn't know what to do.

She perked up, hearing Smokescreen's footfalls and she broke into a delighted smile as the mech entered the medical bay. He was guzzling a cube of energon while he entered and it took him a little to see her smile, but when he did, he smiled back just as brilliantly. "Someone's happy to see me." He comment and Hope nodded happily, hugging him when he came to her side. "Feeling better?" He asked and she nodded again. "Sleep well?" He guessed, earning a shrug. "Took a bit to fall asleep but I slept well enough." She replied. "With Bumblebee at your side?" He smirked. Hope's optics widened and she blushed with a quiet, "Yeah."

"You're crushing on him huh?" The mech chuckled and sat in the chair Bumblebee used. "I-I'm not sure. I think I like him more than he likes me and I don't even know if he likes me… If he did like me romantically, he wouldn't tell me. He wouldn't want to hurt me somehow and ruin our friendship." Hope murmured. Smokescreen nodded. "Even if he did say he loved you, I'm your daddy and I love you more than any other mech could." Hope giggled loudly and hugged him tightly. "Thank you Daddy." Her father figure purred happily. "Come on, Doc says you're free to go." He stood and helped Hope stand. "Let's go get you some energon." She brightened considerably at the prospect of refueling. The entire team had smaller rations due to energon shortages, even her own, and though her body compensated by napping multiple times a day, she still felt the effects of low reserves.

Her thoughts turned to worry as she pondered the possibility the femme might be in the energon storage. She wasn't stealing large amounts if any at all, as the pile of full cubes seemed about the same size. The very presence of the femme raised further questions but one stood out for Hope. Was the femme still there? The young femme's question was answered when Smokescreen opened the door and cried out in surprise. The femme rushed him, tackled him and bolted in blind panic straight towards Hope. She was ready for the strange femme though, and she tackled the brown femme as she fled. Hope pinned her easily despite her knee's protes and slugged the brown femme's face with a fierce right hook. The force of the punch surprised Hope the most, more so as pain jolted through her fist.

Ignoring the pain, she felt amazing. Payback felt good. She flexed her hand and moved aside as Smokescreen recovered and scrambled to her. The limp brown femme groaned weakly and put up a weak struggle while Smokescreen cuffed her, but she gave in eventually. "Good job Hope." Smokescreen was greatly surprised by Hope but there was pride in him too. Hope gave a shy smile, and gazed down at the unknown femme. She felt kind of bad about punching the femme so hard, but pay back was painful. Smokescreen hauled the femme to her pedes and forced her to walk, aiming for the medical bay. The femme was in pain on many different levels and the continuous fluctuation confused Hope.

The young femme couldn't focus to block the brown femme's emotions and it was wreaking havoc on her mind. She stopped and allowed Smokescreen to walk several yards ahead of her, easing the chaos. Smokescreen paused, noticing she wasn't following and looked back at her. "I'm fine." Hope reassured him. "Her emotions are changing too much and I can't focus to block it when I'm next to you." He nodded. "Okay, as long as you're okay." Hope nodded again and the mech began walking yet again. At the distance, Hope could ignore and block the femme's distress, and work on trying to soothe the femme. The femme blocked Hope firmly so she stopped her attempt to calm the femme.

Ratchet's expression was pure surprise as Smokescreen hauled the femme into the medical bay and even the unknown white mech raised an optic ridge. "Good job kid." He told Smokescreen and helped Ratchet pull the femme onto the berth. "I wasn't the one that caught her, Hope did. Hope was the one that took her down; all I did was cuff her." The unknown mech gazed down at her. "Really? Seems like such a small femme wouldn't be able to do so." Hope shrank back as the mech approached. He was definitely a warrior, with his body covered in scratches and cracks, even his face had nicks and scars. "I'd give her some space Wheeljack She doesn't like bots in her personal space and I think she'd be able to take you on, after all, she took down Bulkhead." Hope jumped in surprise as Arcee spoke for her, while the elder femme walked towards her.

Wheeljack huffed in disbelief. "I doubt she did, Bulk would never allow a femme to beat him." Arcee stiffened beside Hope in rage, and glared at him. Hope knew Wheeljack was only saying the previous things to aggravate the elder femme. "She did, knocked him right on his aft." Arcee replied snappily. The mech shrugged off Arcee and the older femme huffed in annoyance. In all honesty, Hope hadn't downed Bulkhead, at least not purposefully. Both bots were still becoming accustomed to standing when they faced off, Hope more than the mech. Hope had tripped and slammed into his bad leg, causing him to stagger back and fall onto his back. The other bots in the training room hadn't been paying attention, so they didn't see Hope scramble to her pedes and jump onto his chest. The massive green mech was just as surprised as she and he allowed her to take the claim.

"Hope." The young femme jumped lightly as Ratchet broke her thoughts. "You want to help me?" She nodded eagerly and darted to his side. The odd femme was limp in sedation and unmoving, but Hope could still see her intakes. Ratchet and Hope stood at her back, by her damaged wings. "What do you think happened to her wings?" The medic questioned. "She probably got into a fight with another bot and the bot clawed her wing." Hope traced the gashes on the tender appendages with her fingertips; then pulled back as the femme twitched. "It looks like they were crushed too. She might have been thrown against a wall or on her back." Ratchet nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. What about the insignia?" Hope glanced at the scraped up Decepticon symbol. "She might have attempted to remove it herself." Hope replied and Ratchet nodded approvingly.

"Ratchet's little helper, huh?" Wheeljack smirked and Ratchet shooed him out of the medical bay in annoyance. Arcee left soon afterward and Smokescreen did as well. "Okay, with no distractions, let's get started." Hope nodded once and eagerly listened to the mech as he explained how to remove the femme's wings, and why they should. She paid close attention to what he did and followed his orders for hands on experience, knowing the information would be useful later on. The medic was quite happy she paid attention, Hope felt it and after they took off the femme's wings, Ratchet showed her how to give a proper cheek up, without the medic's scanner. Hope felt Ratchet's pride swelling as she took in everything he taught her, asked various questions and answered his questions.

The mech enjoyed teaching her and Hope loved learning, quenching her curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Through her life, she searched for her place, and now, standing at Ratchet's side, she found her niche. Ratchet gained a helper and lost stress while Hope gained confidence and shed some of her previous fears. Ratchet smiled down at her in a rare show of happiness and pride. "Thank you Hope, I think we're done here." The medic motioned to the femme. "Come on." He motioned her to follow. Hope followed him to an extra door she hadn't noticed before. The mech punched in a code and grabbed something from inside. "Here, since you didn't get a cube before." The mech handed handed her a nearly empty cube, but it would do to replenish her stores. "You deserve it." Ratchet smiled.

"Thank you." She took the cube and drank happily, relaxing at the feeling of filled energon stores. "I'm sorry I don't have more to offer." Ratchet murmured, taking the empty cube from her and placing it off to the side. Hope shrugged. "I understand Ratchet. We're running low on energon and I'm another mouth to feed. I don't mind." The medic studied her. "Your wisdom overshoots your age, you know that?" Hope nodded. "I remember a lot of bots said that about Mom." The medic chuckled. "Well, that's all I have for you right now. Go spend some time with Smokescreen." Hope nodded, hugged the medic and darted out of the medical bay happily.


	35. Acceptance

_AN: Hope,mystery femme and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

After questioning the femme extensively, Optimus Prime allowed the unknown femme to quietly fall into the Autobot ranks, but not without protest. Hope didn't mind personally, especially after Open Sea retreated back to the Decepticons. The femme brown femme was genuine when she told Optimus she stumbled upon the base purely by accident, searching for energon and confessed she wished to become an Autobot. Most of the team protested about Optimus allowing the femme to join, but after the Forge of Solus Prime mysteriously appeared, Optimus decided another warrior would me good.

The leader assigned the femme a room and she stayed in it most of the day, quiet, cuffed, and distressed. The femme reminded Hope of what she felt when she first came to learn of the other team members, alone and confined in a strange place. The femme didn't try to make friends with any bots, as if knowing the team wouldn't accept her. Hope had been accepted quickly by Cliffjumper and her friendship bloomed after the red mech discovered her situation. The mech's death affected her just as much as Arcee, thought the older femme didn't know of their friendship. Hope felt as if the brown femme missed her own friend, or maybe a love, as the femme radiated pain from her spark.

Though Smokescreen warned her about visiting the femme, but Hope couldn't bring herself to leave her alone all day. She didn't think peeking inside the femme's room would hurt; besides, the femme was nearly always cuffed and staring at the wall. Only a few days passed since the femme was captured and Hope finally worked up the nerve to enter the room. Hope knocked before she came in, but the femme continued to stare listlessly at the wall. Unsure if the femme noticed her entrance; Hope approached cautiously and settled on her knees beside the curled up femme. "H-" Hope's greeting turned to a yelp as the femme pounced on her with the speed of a predator. The femme pinned Hope in a sparkbeat and with the femme's hands wrapped around her throat, Hope didn't fight.

"What do you want? Why have you been stopping by every day?" The femme growled. "I just wanted to see how you were doing." Hope squeaked out. The femme glared at her but released her. "Fair enough." Hope quickly scrambled up and massaged her sore throat as the femme laid down. Hope felt the elder femme's emotional turmoil and yearned to help but Hope knew the femme needed space. She backed off and sat far from the femme, actually enjoying the quiet. Hope felt the femme ease at her presense and she glanced over at the femme. While Hope just attained her Autobot symbol gleaming on her doorwings and chest and an alternant form, the femme remained wounded, wingless and flightless. Forcing herself to look away, as Hope knew staring was impolite, she picked up her mother's datapad letter from the floor and read it again.

_'To my darling Faith,_

_If you are reading this, then you have learned Libel was not your father and I am probably dead. I thought you would discover the secret, so I left instructions with Ratchet. He was to show you any pictures he could find of your father; then give this letter to you when he believed you were ready. I hope he did so, but I know he would. Ratchet is a trustworthy mech, much like your father. Your father was an amazing mech Faith, he truly was. Nobel, loyal, and so loving, almost everything a femme could want in a mech, and hopefully traits you'll find a mech, or femme, that loves you as much your father loved me. It hurts to know I probably won't be there for you, to answer the questions you may have growing up, but I promise, I'll try to survive as long as I can.'_

Hope put the datapad down for a moment, shuddering to fight a sob. She read the letter numerous times and every time she did, she had to stop at this point, because usually she couldn't read past her tears. The brown femme had fallen into recharge and after giving herself some time to calm, she continued.

_'I need to start writing about your dad huh? I guess I'll start by telling how we met. I was stationed at a mobile medical center, working alongside Ratchet when your father and his squad were deployed to the city we worked in. The soldiers came to the center for checkups and your father was a patient of mine. We connected during his checkup and he invited me to spend the night on the town with him. I accepted his invitation and we spent the night together. We were young and in love, too arrogant to think about what the war might do to us. _

_ He was just as excited to learn I was in spark with you as I, but he was quickly redeployed to a city under fire. I honestly never thought he was going to return, so I forced myself to pretend I fell in love with Libel. I desperately needed a bot to help take care of you, I couldn't do it alone, and he was the only one around. We had a night similar to what I had with your father, well at least that's what I told Libel, he had passed out over-energized and had no recollection of what happened. The lie pacified him and when he became abusive, I pretended you were his creation. I couldn't turn to family because the war took them, so I had no place to go. _

_ Thankfully Libel stopped when I told him I was in spark and you were able to develop rather normally. He beat me for some reason the day you were sparked and you were born early. You were so tiny I was afraid you wouldn't make it, but you pulled through, and if you're on the shorter side, I'm sorry. The day you were sparked, Libel was deployed on some sort of mission and somehow, even after moving so many times, being deployed to so many placed, your father found he. He was delighted to find you and I; and I was relieved. I told him about Libel and after hearing the entire story, he understood I 'married' Libel to protect you._

_ He spent the rest of the day and all night with you, despite being so tiny and he helped me come up with your name. He left the next day with his platoon though he didn't want to, Libel returned and I went to earth with you two. I protected you as long as I could and I'm sorry you had to grow up with him. I tried to keep you safe but he overpowered me and I knew you were going to be abused. I desperately wanted your father to come and save us, but after the years, I thought he was dead. I received a letter from him a little while ago and he told me he was alive. I wrote back but I don't know if he responded, but I told Ratchet to give you the letters when you asked. _

_ Again baby, I'm sorry I'm not there for you and I wish I could be there for you. I'm sorry for taking Libel as my 'mate' and I hope you're not angry with me. Maybe you'll take after me and go into the medical field; I think you'd enjoy it. I hope you can find a loving father figure like Ratchet, or maybe Cliff, I could see Cliffjumper taking you under his wing. I hope you can find someone you can love your entire life and not fear. I wish I could be there for you, to answer your questions and help you adjust to adult life. I know Ratchet will help you, and though I can't be there for you, he will answer anything you ask. _

_Take care, my baby, as I write this, I envision you as a sparkling, so tiny, but so loving. I can also see you as a proud young femme, standing strong with an alt. form and Autobot symbol gleaming on your chest. Stay strong little one; I love you with my entire spark._

_Aspire, your loving mother. _

Hope put down the datapad with a sniffle and wiped away her tears. She missed her mother deeply but Hope knew that would never bring her back. Glancing at the datapad once more, she noticed a folder she hadn't seen before. She opened it and found the folder filled pictures. Most were of her and Aspire, but there were a rare few of the little family. One showed something that made Hope tear up. Concord at Aspire's shoulder while Hope was curled in her mother's arms, wrapped in a pink fuzzy blanket. Both parents were gazing at Hope lovingly and as Hope dug, she found one of Concord kissing Aspire's helm gently. Turning the devise off, Hope clutched it to her chest and cried. She lifted her helm quietly as the door opened. Smokescreen poked his helm inside and relaxed, then became annoyed.

"Hope." He whispered, seeing the recharging femme. "Out. Now." He hissed and she scrambled to her feet, slinking to him while holding her datapad close. "I love you Daddy." She gazed up at the mech with big, turbopuppy optics in an attempt to pacify him."Hope, I told you to stay away from her." Smokescreen spoke angrily. Hope shrank away from him as she walked past him, one of the few times she was scared of the mech. "I'm sorry Daddy." She squeaked. The mech sighed heavily. "I should punish you, but I don't think I can." He rubbed the back of her helm. "Come on sweetspark, let's go back to the room. You look exhausted." She nodded and hesitated. "Daddy, can I talk to you?" He smiled. "Of course baby." With a deep breath, Hope told him about her mother's note as they walked to their rooms, unable to keep it to herself any longer.


	36. Support

_AN: Hope, Fox and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope approached from behind the femme nervously. With the femme's hands pressed against the wall about shoulder width apart and her helm lowered, there was almost no way the grieving femme could hear Hope over the roaring water. "Femme?" Hope said as loudly as she could bring herself to and rested her hand on the femme's brown shoulder. The femme jerked away with a startled cry and splattered Hope with icy water, causing her to shiver. The femme's tense shoulders eased somewhat when she saw Hope and leaned against the wall once more. "What do you want kid?" The elder femme grunted, trying to be tough but Hope could feel her pain.

"I just wanted to see what you were doing." Hope replied. "I just want to be alone." The chocolate brown femme snapped. Her helm and shoulders slumped and Hope felt a wave of loneliness wash over her. "You're lying." The words slipped from her vocalizer before she could stop them. "What?" The femme growled at her, staring at her. Hope had a moment of fleeting panic but decided to stand her ground and say what needed to be said. "You're lonely, I can feel it." Hope paused and took a deep breath. "I know this doesn't mean much to you, but if you need to talk, I'm here. I know you just met me but I'm here for you."

"I know you just met me but I'm here for you. I know you're lonely but you told me to leave, so I will respect your wishes. I'll be in my room for the rest of the day though." She turned away from the femme and made her way to the door, but was stopped by the femme. "Wait." Hope turned to face her. "Thank you." The femme took in a deep breath. "It means a lot, to me, to know I can go to someone to talk. Especially since no one trusts me right now. Thank you, kid." Hope gave her a smile. "Every bot deserved to have a friend." The femme nodded. "By the way, my name's Fox." The femme told her. "My name's Hope." Hope saw Fox smile softly. "That name fit's you. You bring a little Hope to every bot you meet."


	37. Fitting In

_AN: One of my favorite chapters XD_

_Hope, Fox and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Jack, Miko, Raf, June and any other Canon bots/Characters (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Within the following days, Fox truly fell into the Autobot ranks. Glad the others accepted her; Hope showed the femme around the base and introduced her to the bots. Most of the team remained leery of the new femme and only Bumblebee and Bulkhead trusted her. Hope knew it was a start and maybe someday, the rest of the team would trust her. Curled up on the concrete floor in front of the TV, Hope was surprised to see Fox huddled in a corner. Hope was glad to see Fox slowly coming out of her shell; it wasn't easy. Miko emitted a triumphant cry from Hope's shoulder, surprising the young femme. Hope originally lied on the floor to listen to music on the TV and read, with Rafael by her stomach.

The pair was relaxing, listening to classical music when June entered the base in a rush. She dropped off Miko and Jack, with quick hello to Hope and the older bots before rushing off to her work. Miko immediately took control of the TV and forced Jack to play video games with her. During a break from the game, Miko climbed up to Hope's shoulder just to see if she could. The adventurous human female was successful and when Jack returned from the bathroom, Miko the crafty female suckered him into climbing to a spot on Hope, though it was a much less adventurous spot on her knee.

Hope didn't mind watching the kids play games, though June wouldn't agree with their seating arrangements, she was just glad Miko hadn't turned on her 'music'. "Best two out of three?" Jack spoke, obviously trying to weasel his way out of something. "Sure." Miko smirked. The pair started another game and Miko whooped as Jack's 'car' spun off the road and crashed. Jack groaned. "I am not doing that." "We made a bet and shook on it." Miko replied quickly. "Fine." The young male muttered reluctantly. He scrambled off Hope's leg and slunk off to a spare room. Hope and Rafael glanced at each other confused and waited for Jack to return.

Hope bit back a giggle as the young man came back in some sort of suit covered with yellow feathers. It had and orange triangular bill strutting out from about the forehead with two giant googly eyes. The fake bucket of chicken attached to the top of the head as a hat of sorts, kept moving kept moving around as if the suit was too large. Hope recognized the mentally challenged looking chicken on the bucket as the mascot of the chicken restaurant down the road from the KO Burger place. Sure enough, when Jack shifted, the 'sign' the chicken held on the bucket read _Chik'n'Quik_. Hope also realized Miko somehow swiped the suit like a true kleptomaniac.

While Hope and Raf stifled their laughter in respect for Jack, Miko did no such thing. She burst into laughter, nearly falling off Hope's shoulder. "That's too good." Miko gasped for air from laughing so hard. "I've got to get a picture." The young female scrambled down from Hope and flipped out her cell phone, still smirking in hilarity. The phone clicked and captured Jack's unamused expression. "Okay, now that's done, dance." Miko ordered recovering from her laughing fit. The teen boy reluctantly fell into a dance that Hope didn't recognize but Raf told her was named the chicken dance. While Miko played the music that coincided with the dance from the phone, the suit lost its amusement for Hope so she watched Raf research on his computer.

Miko allowed Jack to change after the sing finished, then climbed back to Hope's shoulder. "You want to play Raf?" Rafael shook his head. "No thanks. I have a project to work on." Miko huffed in annoyance. "You always have one, why?" Rafael shrugged. "I like doing extra credit." "You focus way too much on school." The girl rolled her eyes. "You focus on it too little." Hope pointed out, glancing at the female. Miko seemed surprised that Hope spoke up. "Be grateful you have a chance at an education." Hope added. The young human remained quiet as Jack returned. Hope couldn't feel her emotions so she had no idea if the human was angry or not.

"Did your dad not allow you to learn when you were younger?" Hope glanced at Miko in surprise at the question. "Yes, and if I tried to teach myself, Libel would beat me." Raf looked up at her with sympathy. "You never told me your dad beat you." Hope smiled down at him reassuringly. "I didn't want to worry you guys, plus it's something I don't want to talk about. My step-father is just a part of my past." "Is that why you disappeared?" Jack asked. Hope nodded. "Libel attempted to kill me, like he has before." Jack studied her with knew respect. "You must have gone through a lot." Hope shrugged slowly to avoid knocking Miko off. "It could have been worse." She stated.

She lifted her helm as Smokescreen and Bumblebee entered. Both were covered in feathers, though Smokescreen had more on him than Bumblebee. The four at the TV glanced at them. "What?" Smokescreen asked. "Why are you covered in feathers?" Hope questioned. The mechs glanced at each other. "We were traveling behind a live chicken truck and another vehicle." Smokescreen began. "It was going well but the door wasn't completely latched because when the truck hit a bump, the door popped open." _'I feel bad for the chickens…'_ Bumblebee shuddered. "I feel worse for the guy in front of us." Smokescreen replied. Bumblebee looked at Smokescreen and they both shuddered.

"So the dude hit the chickens?" Miko asked. Bumblebee nodded quietly. _'We were hit with the feathers.'_ "Let's get a shower Bee." Smokescreen breathed. The pair retreated to the washroom. Hope giggled and rested her helm on the floor. She looked at Raf, finding his hand resting on the scar created by Libel's blade. The young boy gazed at her with a questioning expression. She nodded and Raf rubbed the scar. Within half an hour, the pair returned, clean and dry. Bumblebee sat on the couch with a greeting beep to Raf. Rafael waved back with a happy smile and Hope helped him to Bumblebee. _'Did you know Fox is in the corner?'_ The mech asked Hope. She nodded and glanced back at the femme. "She's been there almost all day."

_'Just standing there?' _The young mech tipped his helm. "She's still adjusting to life here and is still going through a rough time." She replied. _'Has she told you why?' _Hope shook her helm. "No, I think it's a personal affair so I'm not going to bother her about it. She'll open up when she needs to." Bumblebee gave her a quiet nod and glanced at the TV. _'Hey, can I play?'_ Miko glanced at Raf for a translation. "He wants to play." Raf translated. The human girl smirked. "Of course you can. Grab a controller, and let's play. Jack keeps loosing." Jack rolled his eyes and flipped his phone close. "We only have time for a couple more plays. Mom just text me, and she's on her way to pick us up. She got the rest of the day off." Jack informed them.

Hope was a tad confused. "Why did she go in if her boss was going let her leave?" "The person that was supposed to go in today to take the shift was late so Mom went in for her. The ER was swamped and the doctors needed extra help. Once the nurse arrived, the docs let Mom clock out." The teen explained, climbing down from her leg. "Are we still going to the movies?" Miko asked, climbing down from her shoulder. Finally, Hope sat up and rolled her shoulders. Jack nodded and Miko whooped. "Raf you want to come?" The youngest human looked up at Miko with youngling innocence in his brown eyes. "Uh, sure." He pushed his glasses up. "I'll tell my mom before we go."

He saved his work and closed his computer. They watched Bumblebee and Miko play a few more rounds before June entered the base. When June exited her car, she looked noticeably relaxed and unstressed. "Good afternoon, Hope, Bumblebee." She greeted them. Hope smiled. "Afternoon June." Her doorwings flicked and Bumblebee gave her a greeting warble. The woman smiled at the children. "Are you guys ready?" The trio of kids nodded. "Mom said it was okay." Raf picked up his laptop and followed the older humans to the car. June gave them a much calmer goodbye and drove out slowly.

Hope watched her leave and gathered her things. She didn't know why, but she really liked June. She liked the human's personality, maybe because the woman was such a motherly human. Whatever the reason, Hope enjoyed her company. Hope looked up, surprised to find Bumblebee offering her a controller. "Oh, no thanks Bee, I need to be going. I have lessons with Ratchet." The young mech deflated but nodded and turned off the game console sadly. Hope left quickly, sparing herself from seeing the saddened mech. She honestly felt bad for not spending time with him and the other team members, but she had been so busy with her studies, she was surprised she found time to recharge.

She understood why Optimus was pushing her lessons, he feared events were going to turn for the worse and he wanted her to be prepared, but the lessons were taking their toll. At least she felt a little better after showing Wheeljack she wasn't as weak as he thought, though him landing on his face was a complete accident. She remained stressed from the minimal amount of contact with Smokescreen. She worked so hard to become close to him again and once more, he was becoming distant. She was terrified the mech would abandon her, despite desperately trying to persuade herself he wouldn't. She kept telling herself they were too close but Open Sea and Umbra were close as well and they left. Why wouldn't Smokescreen?

"You okay kid?" Hope started, nearly dropping her datapads. Quickly, she put them in her subspace, a feeling she was still getting used to. "Hey Fox." She forced a smile at the older femme and rubbed her face in stress. "I'm doing okay." She responded to Fox's question. The older femme nodded. "You sure though? You seem stressed." Hope nodded once. "I don't want to talk about it." Fox blinked in understanding. "Mind if I walk with you?" "Oh, uh, sure." The younger femme headed towards the medical bay. She heaved a sigh and Fox gave her a worried side glance. "You sure you're okay?" "I don't want to talk about it." Hope murmured and Fox left her alone.

"Hope." Ratchet greeted her with a smile; then glanced at Fox. "Hey Ratch." Hope smiled softly. Fox dipped her helm silently and retreated to her room. The medic shrugged and turned to Hope. "Do you have your report?" Hope nodded and handed the datapad to him from her subspace. He glanced it over and beamed. "Good Hope. You defiantly take after your mother." She forced a smile as the medic placed her work on his desk. Her spark ached at his comment and she settled onto a berth, knowing he would want to check over her communication link. "Have you felt any pain or heard static in this audio?" He asked, gently opening the armour behind her right audio receiver. "No."

"Good." The medic examined his handiwork. "Any static over the link?" "No, not that I've heard, but I haven't used it much." "Hope…" He sighed. "I know, I know, it might save my life but everybody's been busy." He murmured. Ratchet closed the armour with a soft click. "Any problems with your subspace? Hitching up, anything?" Hope shook her helm. "Not a thing." The medic nodded. "That's great." He patted her shoulder. "Why don't you go get some rest?" Hope looked at him. "Really?" The medic nodded. "Yeah, you've been working really hard lately and you deserve a break." Hope hugged him happily and he shooed her off. She darted to the room she still shared with Smokescreen and flopped onto the berth, falling asleep instantly.


	38. Let Go

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

_"We're being followed." Hope's voice stopped Optimus Prime, Smokescreen, and Ratchet. The three mechs stared at her. "Are you sure?" A trembling nod. "Great we have someone following us." Smokescreen groaned. "Not someone, some_thing_!" The mech trio shifted nervously, glancing around the narrow tunnel of the cavern. Optimus saw her terror and eased closer to her. "We need to stay together." He rumbled. Hope's optics widened as a writhing mass of circuits, metal and razor sharp rose up. The creature had a single, ugly optic in the center of its fat head, dirt brown and covered by more rack than glass, while its main shape close to a worm. A massive hybrid worm with acid covered denta easily as big as her arm. _

_ Hope scrambled away with a cry and Optimus turned to the massive creature. "Run!" He barked and they scattered. Hope darted after Smokescreen, but her feet slipped on the slimy rock and she fell with a cry as her wrist snapped. The creature writhed towards her faster than expected and when she tried to get up, her pedes slipped again. She fell hard and slid down the steep incline with a scream. The creature followed and both barreled down the slick rock. With a bellow, the creature fell past her off the edge, into the dark, stinking pit. Hope barely had time to catch herself on a jut of rock at the edge and she listened to the roar echo up from the bottom of the chasm until the creature fell too far down to hear._

_ "Smoke!" Hope screamed desperately, struggling to keep the grip. The mech appeared at the edge, his optics wide. He slowly and cautiously made his way down to her. "Calm down baby." The mech's voice pacified her somewhat as he gripped her wrist, kneeling. He pulled with all his might, several times but all that he succeeded in doing was slamming to his side. He struggled to prevent himself from falling with one arm, and dropping Hope, as his elbow rested on the edge. Her grip was slipping from his. "Daddy." She whispered desperately. She saw, and felt, pain from his arm, fighting to keep it from snapping. _

_ Twisting and kicking, she tried to grip his wrist, optics popping as the mech's grip lessoned. Their optics met and her tank flipped as they both realized the sickening truth. "No, Daddy." She begged. "Please, Daddy, don't! Don't let go!" Tears poured down her cheeks and Smokescreen looked away. "Daddy, please! I love you Daddy!" She sobbed. "I'm sorry, baby. I love you too Hope." Time seemed to slow as Smokescreen released her hand and she plunged, screaming, into the endless chasm. _

* * *

Hope lurched awake, gasping and panting from the intense fear gripping her spark. She pulled her knees and Bounce to her chest, desperately trying to persuade her mind it was just a dream and Smokescreen would never do that. She glanced at his recharging frame and shook, kicking off the rest of the blanket. The mech stirred and gazed at her. "What's wrong?" He mumbled sleepily. Unable to stop, she burst into sobbing.

* * *

Surprised, Smokescreen sat up and pulled the young femme to his frame. His spark wrenched with the same parental instinct he had when he first found the little femme. "What's wrong little one?" She didn't answer and his spark throbbed as she continued to sob. "Shh baby, you're okay." He tucked the femme's helm beneath his helm and held her until her sobs turned to shoulders that passed through her lithe shoulders. "What did you dream about baby?" He murmured; spark rolling in unconfined worry and panic. She didn't speak but finally she burst, telling him of the strange creature, the chasm and of the plunge. "Hope I would never do that." He felt her disbelief over their bond and she pulled away, crying once more.

He rubbed her shoulder softly, feeling horrible and he didn't know why, maybe because the daddy in him knew he was causing her pain. "Hope, why would I drop you? I love you baby." He forced her to look at him gently. "What's wrong baby?" Her optics sparkled with pain. "I don't want you to abandon me." His spark writhed at her piercing comment. "Hope, I would never…" "Open Sea and Umbra did." His spark twisted painfully. "Hope…" She looked away from him. "Hope, look at me." She fought weakly as he cupped her chin. He looked her directly in the optics. "Hope, I would never leave you. I would never abandon you. You're my sparkling and I couldn't just leave you. I love you too much. Hope, if you passed, I don't know what I would do."

He felt tears slip down his cheek as he realized just how easily she could be taken away, especially with Decepticon security tightening around the base. "Really?" The little one's sniffle yanked at his spark strings. "Yes." He held her close and his pain eased as she cuddled against him. "Would you like to come on a patrol with me tomorrow?" She nodded against his chest. "I'll ask Ratchet okay?" Another nod hesitantly opened a communication link with Ratchet. *_"What?"_* The mech sounded irritated and sleepy. *_"This better be good."_* *_"Ratch, can Hope come with me on a patrol tomorrow?"_* Smokescreen asked. *_"You're kidding right? You woke me up to ask me this?_* The mech growled. *_"Look, Ratch, she's really tore up about something and I wanted to show her I won't abandon her."_*

The medic was trying his patience. There was a silence and he thought the medic had fallen asleep. *_"Yeah, she can."_* The anger was gone from his voice. *_"But I won't to talk to you in the morning."_* *_"Okay."_* He replied and Ratchet cut the line. "You can come with." He murmured to Hope. She looked up with a feeble smiled and sniffle. "Thank you Daddy." She hiccupped and snuggled close. He rubbed her doorwings gently and eased her to her side to recharge. "It'll be alright." He covered her carefully and handed her Bounce. She held the stuffed animal close and gazed at him with big, tear filled optics. He knew that look well. He began her favorite story and by the end of it, she was in a deep recharge.

Smokescreen sighed in relief and lied beside her, holding her close. He thought about the night he found her so pitiful and feeble looking. When he first found heard her scream, he had asked Ratchet who it was and the medic told him she cried out often. Shen she sontinued to scream, he couldn't stop himself from searching and now he was so glad to have the little femme wrapped protectively in his arms. Even though he had been through a lot of negative things to find her, like wandering in the Arctic, being forced to stay in the base, and more, he didn't blame her for the happenings. His little one was safe and he shuddered to think at how long she would have lived if she remained with Libel. He had been shocked when Ratchet informed him she went to him numerous times. She always came in bruised, battered and near death, but she would always pull through.

Her will to live over powered her broken body and she always recovered. Smokescreen wondered why the little one fought death and had such a strong will when she knew her step-father hated her. Maybe she thought Libel would stop, or her mother would come back to stop him. Maybe, she just didn't want she just didn't want to die. Maybe, just maybe, she was holding out hope for a bot to rescue her. Any possibility could be true, but all he cared about was Hope remaining his sparkling. When he discovered Hope was close to Dreadwing, the white mech became livid with envy and jealousy. He became angrier after he learned Dreadwing killed Libel, wanting to have slaughtered the bastard himself.

Smokescreen was the bot that stayed awake to midnight to watch over her, the bot that spent hours attempting to soothe a highly distressed femme, the bot that hold her lovingly when no other bot did, not Dreadwing. He had been put in his place when Hope snapped at him, screaming the only reason she became close to Dreadwing was Smokescreen became distant and she wanted a father, not a brother. Afterwards, he worked tooth and nail to become close to her again and Hope loved it. Now, he guessed, they were becoming distant once more. This time would be much easier to become close, as neither were confined or had to work for a punishment. He smiled at her, though she couldn't see it, and kissed her forehelm.

The little one was taking the changes she faced in stride and she grew from the experienced. Her personality was changing as well as her body. She was becoming more independent, less skittish and more curious. Her 'small' frame wasn't so small after her growth spurt and with her regular training; her thin frame became stronger and still was. Smokescreen found it difficult to realize his little girl was growing up, but he knew she was healthy. They would have to separate within a year or so though, as the rest of her body matured, mainly the systems that most mechs a bit older than her would want. She would probably stress after the first weak or so of separation but she would get used to being on her own.

Smokescreen hoped when she started looking at mechs, she would find one that treated her well, not like Libel. Either way, his fatherly instincts would be happy about letting her go. He didn't worry about it much right now as it was a ways off. He considered her with Bumblebee as she seemed to be taking a shine to him. Bumblebee on the other hand was fully crushing on the femme. Smokescreen could see it in his expression every time the young mech would glance at her, but every time, Smokescreen would glare at Bumblebee, making the young mech look away. Hope sighed in her sleep and snuggled closer to him, breaking his thoughts. His smile deepened and he rubbed between her doorwings. She sighed happily this time and shifted. With his own sigh of exhaustion, he let his frame relax. Slowly, he allowed himself to drift off, much like the night he found Hope.


	39. Rivalry

_AN: Warning an extremely long chapter ahead. I still like this chapter a lot. _

_Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, Wheeljack, Arcee and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope's morning went smoothly; a quick patrol with Smokescreen and Bumblebee, followed by some quality time with the pair, and a quick training session with Arcee. The older femme eventually sat down by the wall and Hope settled near her, not too close as Arcee seemed annoyed, but Hope felt the older femme needed some company. She felt the older femme glaring at her and she glanced at Arcee. "What do you want Hope? We're done here." The younger femme heard her annoyance. "You seem like you need some company." Her reply surprised the older femme. "I guess I do…" Arcee sighed finally. Hope felt a stab of longing from the femme. Both femmes looked up as Smokescreen entered.

"Come on Hope, let's go watch some TV." Smokescreen spoke quickly, trying to get her to leave Arcee alone. "She can stay here." The mech was caught off guard. "Are you sure?" Arcee nodded and he hesitantly left. The room fell silent and Arcee sighed. "Hope, have you ever felt like you're completely alone with no one to talk to?" "That was almost my entire life." The younger femme replied truthfully. Arcee started but nodded. "I guess you're right." The femme shifted and pulled her knees to her chest. "Hope, can, can I talk to you openly?" The femme glanced at her, optics desperate for trust. "Of course." Hope replied.

"And not a word will be spoken to anyone?" Arcee pressed. "Never." Hope promised. Arcee's shoulders lowered in relief. Silence fell once more as Arcee worked up the courage to talk. "I'm guessing you don't remember Cliffjumper, huh?" Arcee murmured disheartened. "I do remember him actually." The older femme stared in surprise. "You do?" Hope nodded. "Yeah, he was one of the first bots to show me not everybot was like Libel." Arcee smiled weakly and gazed at the floor. "He was my fighting partner…" Arcee whispered. "But you were closer to him than that?" Hope murmured. Arcee looked up, tears welling up in her wide optics.

"I can feel your emotions." She admitted. Dreadwing warned her to only inform close bots about her powers, but Hope felt Arcee deserved to know. "You're an empath?" Arcee breathed. Hope nodded expected to feel disgust or hate, instead she felt curiosity. "Is that why you would retreat to your room if too many of us were debating?" Hope nodded. The older femme shook her helm in disbelief. "Can you tell when a bot is lying?" "Yeah, they give off certain energy when they do." Hope answered her question, surprised by the femme's shift in mood, but it changed back quickly.

"Primus I miss him. We were more than friends. I loved him and when I found him, alive but a zombie…" The femme shuddered heavily in despair. Hope rubbed her shoulder gently, not knowing what to say. "I always thought his constant talking was annoying, now, it's too quiet." The powerful femme broke down and sobbed. "When I saw you, even as a sparkling, it hurt because he would talk about you often. Honestly, I was jealous because I thought he loved you, I didn't know you were just a youngling. He did but it was a fatherly and brotherly love. When Cliff passed away and I would look at you; I thought about him. I should have been kinder, but I didn't know what you dealt with before. I'm sorry…" The femme glanced up at Hope with tears.

Hope understood, knowing now why the femme disliked her. The femme felt the pain of loss and it morphed to hate after years. "It's okay, you didn't know and honestly I don't mind." Hope murmured softly. The older femme gazed at her, considering her for a moment. "You're such an optimistic bot Hope, almost to a fatal flaw." Hope shrugged and gazed at the far wall. "I had to be with Libel, because if I wasn't I think I would have passed long ago." Arcee fell quiet after her bleak comment for a while. "Ratchet told me about some of the times you were in his OR and recovery. How did you survive for so long, with no one that loved you, or no one to care?" Hope took in a deep breath. She always expected a similar question but it still didn't ease the surprise that flared.

"Honestly, I don't know. Sometimes I fought because I didn't want to die, death terrified me at such a young age and I didn't want to go. Most of the time, I don't know. I guess I was hoping a bot would come alone to save me." A pause. "You know, thinking back." Hope murmured after a moment of silence. "It was kind of stupid to put my hopes into bots I didn't even know." Arcee studied her. "You survived didn't you? And Smokescreen saved you." The older femme pointed out. Hope nodded. "I guess you're right but I think I would have been saved earlier." "How so?" Arcee questioned with a curios look. "The day Cliff died, I think Cliff was going to expose Libel and take me under his wing." Her answer shocked Arcee and the older femme stared in disbelief.

"Libel had something to do with his death, didn't he?" Arcee hissed, her voice quivering from rage and grief. Hope nodded solemnly. "I believe so." The older femme jerked Hope towards her, and honestly Hope was expecting a knife to the stomach, but the femme held her gently in a hug, kissing the top of her helm. "If Cliffjumper liked you enough to take as his own, I think ii can too." Arcee whispered. Hope blinked I surprise as Arcee stood. After months of Arcee glowering at her, Hope was surprised at the turn of events. The older femme offered Hope her hand, and though Hope towered over her, Hope stood with Arcee's help.

"You can ask me anything you'd like little one, and I'll try to answer the best I can." Arcee promised with certain determination to her face. Hope smiled softly and thanked the older femme. With a soft smile of remembering, Hope gazed across the room, her mind deep in thought. "Arcee, can I ask you something, right now?" The older femme nodded. "Of course you can." The young femme sighed deeply. "Do, do you think Smoke would, ever abandon me?" She glanced down as Arcee gave her a critical expression, but was surprised by the question. "He would never do something like that to you Hope, he loves you too much. Why would you think that?" Arcee's optic ridges were furrowed with worry and Hope could feel the motherly sensations already radiating from her. "I-I've just been thinking a lot." Hope murmured. "The dreams haven't helped either.

Arcee patted her shoulder. "Don't worry about it Hope. Smokescreen would rather die than abandon you. He's a good mech and is a great parental figure, even though he's annoying as scrap." Hope giggled softly as her worries were laid to rest. Hope felt better hearing the confirmation from a differing bot and Hope knew Arcee wouldn't lie to her. "Are you going to stay here to train more?" Arcee broke her thoughts. Hope nodded, but her spark yearned to be with Smokescreen. He was busy at the moment so Hope couldn't spend time with him. The pair squared off and Hope glided into her defensive stance. Arcee threw the first punch, which Hope easily dodged. She used the skills Dreadwing taught her as she practiced with Arcee, thinking back on the large amount of time she spent perfecting the moves she used.

She felt a bit odd fighting a bot smaller than she, but the change gave the young femme a new perspective on battle and allowed her to expand her experience. Hope grunted as Arcee caught her chin with a left hook, breaking her thoughts. The young femme shook her helm from the pain and cleared her thoughts. Arcee paused. "What's wrong Hope? You're distracted." Hope sighed. "Just, thinking." She murmured. "You want to stop?" Arcee asked lowering her arms. "No, no, I'm okay." Hope took her stance again forcing herself to focus. Arcee nodded in acceptance and they squared off once again. Hope waited anxiously for Arcee to make the first move. **  
**The older femme's first swipe surprised Hope with her speed and ferocity. Arcee's blows kept Hope on her less and prevented her thoughts from wandering. The young femme also felt Arcee was using Hope to relieve stress and calm herself. Hope didn't mind being used as a punching bag as Arcee just accepted Hope as her own and Hope was learning. Hope ducked to avoid a particularly fierce punch; then glided into a roundhouse kick she worked on months to perfect. She watched Arcee's optics widened in surprise at the unexpected attack and the older femme didn't have time to react. Hope's foot connected with the side of Arcee's helm and the older femme staggered, sinking to her knees.

The femme shook her helm and struggled to her feet. "Good Primus Hope." Arcee grunted. "Where'd you learn that?" Hope smiled shyly though Arcee was too busy massaging her helm to see it. "Honestly, I watched you do it and Dr- I mean a close friend helped me practice it." With another shake of the helm Arcee smiled at her. "Well it was a good kick. Powerful, fast and you used it when I wasn't expecting it. Good." The femme paused and studied her. "I wasn't expecting it but now I know you can do it. Use a kick like that sparingly Hope, as there are several ways to block it and some bots won't be affected by it." Arcee warned.

Hope nodded in understanding when a voice came from directly behind her. "That was a nice little kick little femme." Hope jumped in terror and lashed out with a low kick by instinct. She knocked his legs clear out from under him and Wheeljack hit the ground with a clang. He grunted and hauled himself up. "Good Primus femme, you don't have to be so jumpy." Hope didn't reply to his statement as he brushed himself off, regarding him quietly. Arcee was doing the same a few paces away with pursed lips and crossed arms. "We had the training room reserved for the afternoon, you know."

Wheeljack glanced at Arcee. "Well, Optimus told me he wanted Hope to train with me for a few hours so she can get a better grasp on something. Maybe to get better, frag I don't know, either way it doesn't look like she needs help. Seems she's trained with someone before us, I know those moves." Hope's doorwings lowered and stiffened aggressively beneath Wheeljack's gaze. She didn't know why but this mech was angering her and her doorwings were beginning to quiver. Her optics widened in realization. "You trained with Dreadwing." He growled, approaching aggressively. Hope's hand instinctively went to her subspace and clutched her knife.

Arcee quickly stepped between the pair before the confrontation escalated. "Wheeljack." The older femme's voice was heavy with warning. The mech backed off a few strides to glare at Hope. "Where is that bastard?" He growled. "He's dead." Hope snapped. "I found his body with a hole in his chest where his spark would have been. I was the one that buried him so I know he was dead." She paused, her voice quivering. "He was like a father too me and if you want to hate me because he took me under his wings, then that's fine by me, but don't you ever approach me wanting to harm me or looking for a fight again. I will give you a fight without hesitation, and I don't go down easily."

The training room remained silent after Hope's outburst for several minutes of stunned silence. Hope's entire frame shook in rage and she forced out a tense sigh to calm herself. She watched the mech's frame lock up in rage and he approached her defiantly. "Wheeljack." Arcee spoke in an attempt to distract him. The mech ignored her and came to Hope, forcing Arcee out of the way. "If you're so tough let's see it." He growled in Hope's face, enraging Hope further. The young femme watched Arcee glance between her and Wheeljack uncertainly, desperate to separate the feuding pair. "Hope…" Arcee's voice was nervous as the younger femme and Wheeljack squared off. The older femme struggled to keep Wheeljack from lunging at Hope. "Wheeljack you could really hurt her."

Wheeljack shoved Arcee away once more. "Let me see if she can really hold up to her words." He grunted. Arcee hesitated, glancing, then back off. Hope didn't blame her for worrying, the mech was powerful but Hope refused to back down. She remained determined to prove she was no longer a weak, helpless youngling needing everybots help. She didn't care that she might be wounded in the process. After all, potential damage was a fact of a true fight. "Fine." Hope retorted and backed up, shifting into her defensive stance. Hope felt Arcee's desperation as Wheeljack took his position. Her doorwings flattened to her frame as she prepared herself. Wheeljack's first attack was sudden and a tad unexpected but Hope easily blocked the jarring blow with her forearms.

She ducked beneath a left hook, blocked a fierce right hook, but staggered heavily when she took a knee to the face after ducking beneath a punch. She grimaced lightly, finding her lip split in a different place than before but bleeding. "You look kind of cute with a split lip." Wheeljack smirked, knowing it would anger her. Hope snarled and circled him, looking for weaknesses as Wheeljack did the same. His left hook was slower than his right, and Hope quickly figured he started life right hand dominant. She knew becoming ambidextrous was a difficult task and even after years of work to perfect it, forced ambidextrous abilities remained a noticeable trait that took much longer to erase. In a blur, she dove forward beneath a swipe and struck him several times in the stomach, then launched herself away for him to react.

He grunted angrily and the pair began circling one another. Hope had no time to react as the mech slammed into her, knocking her flat on her back and winding her. Gasping heavily she lashed out as Wheeljack pinned her simply with his knee. He snorted and caught her fist, twisting it back painfully. Hope gritted her denta, refusing to cry out. "Not so high and might now, huh? You little bastard." Hope snarled angrily and struck a crack in his knee armour forcefully, smirking at the sound of snapping metal. Wheeljack roared in agony and released her, staggering away from the femme. His warrior ways left his armour with small cracks that Hope easily picked up.

He growled dangerously and pulled back his right arm as she stood. His punch sent her sprawling to the floor once more while the older bot pounced on her and began releasing his rage upon her frame. "Wheeljack, stop!" Arcee cried as the mech beat Hope viciously. The young femme twisted and jerked with his blows but fought back, catching his jaw with firm punches. Wheeljack paused to shove Arcee away but it gave Hope enough time to haul herself from his grip and smashed his audio receiver with a well-aimed punch. The mech arched back and flopped to his back howling in agony, clutching the wounded appendage. Hope straightened somewhat, resting her hand on her throbbing right side; then gave Arcee pacifying look.

The older femme relaxed somewhat then glanced at the shaking mech. Panting Hope approached hesitantly, nervously watching the mech. Her optics widened as the mech gripped her ankle suddenly and sent her flying across the open room. Her flight was made short as she connected with the far wall, her entire frame crying out with the sudden contact. She thudded to the floor, optics fritzing and audios ringing from her helm striking the wall. She watched with static filled vision as Wheeljack hauled himself up and stumbled towards her. "Wheeljack, stop." The older femme's voice regained its fierceness and she jerked him back. Wheeljack ripped his hand from the femme's grip and ignored Arcee again.

As the mech approached, unsheathing one of his swords, Hope realized he considered her Dreadwing and he was about to get revenge. Arcee tried once more to distract the mech and prevent him from harming Hope further but the mech merely struck her with the hilt of his blade. Hope's recalibrated optics widened and she stood swiftly as the ringing in her audios faded. Arcee stumbled back, holding her cheek in shock and pain. Wheeljack returned his attention to Hope and she quickly strapped her knife to her thigh, trembling in anger. Unsheathing the polished blade, she realized this had declined to a fight for her life. Hope slashed first, surprising Wheeljack, but he easily deflected the blade and made his own attack.

She jumped back to avoid the blade to avoid the blade and darted behind him, poised to swipe. His reaction was much faster than expected as he swung around with the blade. The tip sliced open a gash on her left arm before Hope could pull away and Hope grimaced in pain. She felt energon streaming down her arm as she backed off and she flexed it tentatively, finding it still worked, but hurt. She was relieved the blade hadn't wounded her movement wires but Wheeljack remained a problem. She launched herself forward in a feigned frontal attack, only to leap sideways at the last second and open a gash along his abdomen and right flank. The mech grimaced lightly and slashed downward with a growl of anger.

The blade passed right in front of her face and Hope scrambled back, realizing he hadn't meant to miss and he truly wished to kill her in the name of revenge. She quickly retreated a few steps and reassessed the situation. Wheeljack glared at her as she studied him thoroughly. He continued to limp on the knee she struck and the gash bothered him more than he showed. She figured if she stayed to his left it would be somewhat harder for him to strike her. Then again Wheeljack was a hardened warrior and this was her desperate plan. She ran towards his left side and swiped, not really expecting the blade to hit.

Wheeljack jerked away and her blade missed, but she easily dodged the blade coming at her face. Her guess had been correct and he was much slower to react because of his bleeding, open wound. Hope didn't notice when she made the wound the blade had struck a bundle of sensitive nerve wires, but now she used it to her advantage. Remaining near his left side, she slashed and hacked away at the mech, defending herself when needed. The majority didn't hit the mech, as he deflected or dodged them, but Hope was still able to land some nicks and scratches. She felt great, finding her own rhythm in the battle and learning she could hold her own pretty well in a fight. "Enough!" Wheeljack roared and struck her across the helm with the hilt of his blade.

Hope groaned as she thudded to the floor. She heard her knife skitter across the floor as she hit and she desperately scrambled to get it. "No you don't." He growled and a well-placed kick sent her sprawling on her back. Hope's spark hammered in her chest as Wheeljack stood above her. "Wheeljack, stop!" Arcee cried and threw herself a top Hope in a feeble attempt to stop the mech. He completely ignored her and his blade came down with a roar. Pressing her knees to Arcee's frame and heaving as she rolled, Hope managed to keep them from death but Hope was still wounded. Wheeljack's blade sank into her upper arm and twisted. She cried out in pain and Wheeljack enjoyed every minute of it.

He withdrew his blade and Hope hopped to her feet. She bolted forward, jumped, and melted into a perfect, unexpected roundhouse that made its mark on his helm. She landed gracefully while Wheeljack cried out and staggered, shaking his helm vigorously. He spun around, optics glimmering in hate and charged with both katanas. Hope realized she no longer had her blade and she spotted it not too far away. She bolted to it as Wheeljack changed directions, scooped it up and faced him head on. "Stop this scrap right now!"

The metallic _cling _and _shing_ of their blades colliding pierced the still air after Optimus Prime's outburst. Hope struggled to keep the blades from striking her helm with both wounded arms. Wheeljack pressed harder with a growl but hesitated when Optimus spoke again. "Wheeljack, I said stop." Wheeljack glared at both femme and older mech but released the pressure on the blades. He backed off trembling in pain and rage as Optimus approached and Arcee got to her feet, watching helplessly. "If you wish to remain in the base, hand over your swords Wheeljack." The younger mech studied the leader then snorted. He shoved passed Optimus and left. Optimus turned to Hope and she shrank under his enraged gaze.

"Give me your knife Hope." Without hesitation she sheathed the blade and unstrapped it, allowed Optimus to confiscate it. Her spark beat faster as he glared down at her and she held herself quietly. "Go to Ratchet to get patched up. Then come directly to my office." Optimus ordered. "Arcee, go with her." He growled. Arcee responded with a quiet, "Yes sir." And followed Hope. The young femme glanced back nervously at Optimus, feeling his anger and disappointment as if it were a slap to the face. She lowered her helm and her doorwings fell limp as they went to the medical bay. They passed Bumblebee, who upon seeing Hope's battered frame, followed the pair, asking repeatedly what happened. Hope ignored his desperate questions, fighting back tears.

Arcee eventually stopped him and the mech reluctantly backed off. For one of the first times in her life, Hope was truly terrified of facing Optimus. She quivered as the pain finally set in and her entire frame began throbbing. Arcee had to help the rest of the way because the unseen gash on Hope's thigh became unbearable. Ratchet was waiting for them in the medical bay, his optics firm and his lips taught; Optimus apparently talked to Ratchet. Hope trembled further and her intake became short gasps. Ratchet backed off to give her space and Hope calmed somewhat on the berth, no longer feeling trapped.

He rubbed her cheek gently, easing in his strict expression, seeing her fear and worry. "It's okay Hope. Optimus might be mad but he would never hurt you." Hearing the phrase from a different source, besides Hope's thoughts, eased her fears and she allowed Ratchet to approach. The medic began the repairs that took a long while, with none of his usual gentleness. Arcee stayed at her side, rubbing her cheek gently to keep her calm. Hope spotted Fox in the corner doing something for Ratchet but she never turned to look at Hope. A sense of loneliness fell upon Hope as Ratchet released her and Arcee helped her to Optimus's office, followed by gut wrenching dread.

The leader's office was near the back of the base and took a while to walk to, only adding to her dread. Arcee let her stand on her own and waited as Hope quietly knocked on the door "Come in." Optimus's voice was commanding but it had calmed somewhat with less anger. Hope squeezed in quietly and closed the door quietly behind her. Optimus sat behind a massive metal desk, sitting in a matching metal chair. She guessed the highly polished metal came from the humans but right now, she didn't care. "Sit." Optimus rumbled and motioned to another matching chair. Hope did as he said, refusing to look at the mech. The leader had calmed but she still felt his anger and disappointment. She had done wrong and she knew it.

"Hope, I want to start off by saying I'm very disappointed in you. I would not have expected you to fight one of your teammates in such a manor. Wheeljack I expected, but not you Hope. You are much too smart to stoop to his level, so I have to ask; why did you fight him Hope?" Hope chewed on her lip quietly, wincing as her wounded lip moved, letting her helm hang low. "I-I'm not sure sir. I-I guess I just let my pride get in the way." She whispered. "I wouldn't think you would defend your honor." Optimus stated, studying her closely. "I, I wasn't defending mine." She replied honestly, looking away. "Really?" The mech questioned with a quiet nod from Hope.

"I was protecting Dreadwing's." Her answer surprised Optimus and he raised an optic ridge. "You were fighting for Dreadwing's namesake?" Another quiet nod and the room fell silent after Optimus heaved a sigh. "Hope I know you were close to Dreadwing but trying to protect his honor is something you shouldn't be doing. I know you would want to because he was like a father but you need to learn when to hold your tongue. Several bots I once fought with as friends perished because they picked a fight to defend one another's honor. They were too prideful and they died because of it." Hope remained quiet as Optimus paused. "Do you have anything to say?" He asked after several moments of silence.

Hope hesitated. "Did Dreadwing ever kill anybot that Wheeljack was close to, maybe a fellow Wrecker?" She asked. Looking up at the mech. Optimus paused in thought. "I believe so, yes, Dreadwing did. Why do you ask?" Hope shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "Wheeljack, Wheeljack wanted revenge and he was going to kill me for it." Optimus' optics widened. "Are you sure?" She nodded. "He had that look in his optics. Believe me; I know what it looks like for a bot wanting to kill me. He got it after I told him Dreadwing did train me." "You began the fight to prove your worth and defend Dreadwing's honor, but it turned into a fight for your life?" Optimus guessed. Hope nodded then paused. "How did you know I wanted to prove I was useful?"

Optimus gazed at her calmly, reminding Hope of an owl. The mech certainly had the wisdom for it. "As you know the look of a bot wanting to kill, I know the expression of a bot wanting to prove they are no longer a weak or useless youngling. I've seen it before as you have." Hope blinked in surprise and returned her gaze to the floor. "I guess I didn't prove much, except that I am weak and I'm just as callow and arrogant as a youngling." She pulled her knees up and stared at the floor. The room remained quiet and Hope beat herself up. "I'm so, so stupid." She muttered to herself. The silence began to unsettle her but Optimus spoke no words of sympathy. Hope rested her chin on her knees and rubbed her optics to fight tears.

"Hope." The young femme refused to look up at the leader. "Yes sir?" She squeaked out. "I understand you were fighting to survive but you were still fighting one of your teammates. Right now, we need to remain a team, a single unit working as one. We cannot have members feuding. If you wish to be regarded as an adult, then I shall punish you as such. From this day forward, you are no longer bunking with Smokescreen. You are not his mate or his sparkling so you will have your own room." Hope opened her mouth to protest, but Optimus stopped her. "You wished to be noticed as an adult, not a youngling, so you shall. Arcee will help you move your belongings. You will have a schedule of my choosing, including late night patrols and waking at dawn. You may continue your studies but I will be your trainer and Arcee will be you tutor for everything, except the medical field. You will have no contact with Bumblebee, Smokescreen, or the children until I no longer see you as a threat. You will return directly to your quarters for the next three days and I will keep the knife Dreadwing gave you until I am sure you will not use it against another bot." The mech paused. "Do you understand?"

Hope nodded silently and whispered, "Yes sir." "You may leave." Optimus waved to the door. Without protest, Hope uncurled and slunk away. "Hope." She stopped at the door, not looking back as tears stained her face. "Yes sir?" She managed. "If I find you fighting another member in the same way, I will kick you off Team Prime." Hope nodded and left. She limped passed a waiting Arcee, who followed her to the room she and Smokescreen no longer shared. A strained whimper passed her lips as she looked around the cluttered room. "We need to be quick; Smokey will be back in a bit." She whispered to Arcee. She didn't see the older femme nod in reply and collected her things. She didn't have much so she left quickly, before Smokescreen arrived. She had messed up big time and she couldn't face him. Arcee silently led her to the new room then left the younger femme to unpack. With another strained whimper, Hope entered and collapsed on the berth, sobbing.

* * *

"Hope?" Smokescreen cried out happily, as he entered their room, returning from a patrol and he felt great. His bubble popped when Hope didn't reply. He stopped, looking around the room, seeing her things missing. He felt her distress over their bond and he became confused and worried. He left and bolted to Optimus' office, figuring the leader might know where she and her belongings were. He knocked on the door nervously, trembling as Hope's distress worsened. "Enter." Smokescreen entered at the calm voice's command. "Optimus, Hope is not in our room and she's distressed." He panted shakily, surprised at the leader's relaxed nature. "Do you know where she is?" Optimus nodded. "As a part of her punishment, she will no longer be bunking with you." Smokescreen paused. "What did she do?"

"She and Wheeljack broke into a fight and nearly killed one another." Smokescreen's jaw tensed. "So you punished her for a fight Wheeljack probably started?" "She wished to be treated as an adult, so I did." Optimus replied calmly. "Bullshit!" Smokescreen growled angrily. The leader stared at Smokescreen in surprise. "I may not know the full extent of what happened or your punishment, but I know damn well she didn't deserve it. She's still a fragging youngling and, quite literally, still needs me. You let your stress get to you and you punished her unfairly." Smokescreen paused, rage burning through him as if it were fire. "She's coming back to my room and I don't give a slag what you say. If you decide to shove me out the door because of this, then go ahead, but Hope is coming with me." He growled and strutted out, quivering angrily.

He forced himself to relax as he followed his spark to find Hope. He entered and Hope looked up at him, her optics widening. "Daddy!" She cried and launched herself to him. "I love you Daddy." She whimpered, hugging him tightly. "I love you too baby." He murmured, the pain in his spark easing tremendously. "Let's get you back to our room." The femme gazed at him. "But what about Optimus?" "I don't give a slag." Smokescreen growled and rubbed his cheek against hers. "Your my sparkling, not his." He murmured and carried her to their room. She clung to him tightly, crying in relief and distress, telling him what happened. He placed her on the berth gently and settled beside her. He held her close and soothed her into recharge by singing her Cybertronian lullaby.


	40. Flashback

_AN: I love the frigging imagery in the first chunk X3_

_ Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Optimus Prime gazed across the horizon, watching the sun set. He stood near Cliffjumper's memory pyre, spotting the broken horn reflecting various shades of crimson in the depleting light. A gentle breeze picked up and stirred a cloud of dust. He watched the minute particles disappear suddenly as if it were magic. The Autobot leader turned briefly to watch Ratchet approach then returned to the sunset. The medic paused at his side and studied the colour filled landscape. "Something's troubling you optimums, you never leave the base. What's wrong?" Optimus took in a deep breath and released it slowly before answering his question. "I believe I punished Hope too heavily." The medic remained quiet as Optimus thought then continued. "I let my stress and emotions get to me and I released them on Hope." Optimus murmured quietly.

"We all make mistakes Optimus; it's a part of life." Ratchet told him and Optimus nodded. "I should not have though, and Smokescreen pointed it out." He paused. "So you believe I punished her too harshly?" The medic nodded respectfully. "I know you meant well and wanted to teach her a lesson, but it was a little too hefty. She didn't start the fight and near the end she fought for her life." Optimus sighed in agreement. He watched the last rays of sunlight dwindle behind the horizon. He turned away and walked to the base. "What are you going to do?" Ratchet asked. "I shall apologize. I should not have allowed my emotions to interfere with my thoughts." The smaller mech nodded once. "I think she'll understand." Optimus glanced at him. "I hope she does."

Optimus Prime entered the recreational room the next morning, surprised to find Smokescreen reclined on the couch with Hope curled and tucked against him. From afar, Smokescreen seemed exhausted and drained, as if the young mech remained awake the entire night. The younger mech seemed happy though, and seemed his spark wallowed in content. Optimus knew the mech's parental instincts were ecstatic at the time, and it was a sensation Optimus yearned to feel someday. The leader knew there was no option of having a sparkling while war raged though. Optimus started towards the pair, but stopped his approach as Bumblebee came to the duo.

Both bots looked up at the young mech and Hope's bright smile made Optimus smile as well. Bumblebee and Hope rubbed their cheeks together in what Optimus concluded was a greeting, before Bumblebee sat down. Optimus could tell the pair was close and he could see the pair as potential mates. Hope didn't seem to feel the blooming romance as much as Bumblebee and Optimus saw the younger mech's excitement to have a bot around his age. Ignoring the thoughts, Optimus resumed his approach and paused behind them. "Hope, may I see you for a minute?" All three bots glanced up at him but he caught a glint of fear in Hope's optics. Smokescreen murmured in her audio and the young femme nodded, slowly getting up.

Optimus led her quietly out of ear shot and he turned to her, seeing her nervousness. "Hope, I promise, you are not in any trouble." He paused for a deep intake. "Hope, I wish to apologize to you. I allowed my stress to influence my decision and I am deeply sorry. I was harsh when I shouldn't have been. You may return to Smokescreen's care and you shall have lessons with Arcee and Smokescreen, but I will remain your trainer. Your schedule will be less strict but I still expect you to follow it." The young femme stared up at him in complete shock. "T-thank you Optimus." She paused. "I-I accept your apology." She squeaked and Optimus allowed her to go, returning to his office. He still felt guilty for stressing the femme, but he was relieved to know she accepted his guilt.

* * *

'_Good morning sleepyhead.'_ Bumblebee's gentle voice awoke Hope from her deep recharge. "I don't want to." She whined and rolled over. _'Come on, the patrol will be fun.'_ His optics smiled. "Fine." She mumbled and sat up, stretching. She relaxed seeing the cluttered room she and Smokescreen shared. She rolled from under her covers and trotted out of her room, waking herself up. Bumblebee followed and she eventually slowed to a walk with the mech at her side. _'Hope would you like to watch a movie with me afterwards?'_ Bumblebee questioned. She smiled and nodded eagerly. The young femme was beginning to fall for the mech, though her feelings remained jumbled. She adored him as a brother and friend but she was scared of destroying their friendship.

They met up with a patiently waiting Bulkhead and left after transforming down. Transforming still felt odd to Hope, as her body twisted and folded into a compact sports car but she adjusted to it. The sensation of asphalt and dirt beneath her tires still felt odd, but when she hit high speeds, she enjoyed the feeling. She enjoyed the feeling of wind sliding over her frame more though and she wondered if she was meant to be a flier. _*'Race you to the highway?'*_ Bumblebee startled Hope from her thoughts. _*No thanks Bee. I just got off Optimus' bad side and I don't want to get on it again. Plus there's usually a cop there.*_ She replied, using her communication link like Bumblebee had done.

_*How did you get Optimus angry with you?*_ Bulkhead asked. _*She and Wheeljack broke into a fight.* _Bumblebee answered before Hope could and she yearned to smack him. Bulkhead's engine revved softly in surprise. _*I'm surprised you walked away with your limbs.* *I almost didn't walk away at all.*_ Hope grumbled over the comm. _*He found out about Dreadwing didn't he?* _Hope's silence answered Bumblebee's question. She relaxed as her tires hit the smooth road and lo longer jostled her sore frame. Her speed still caused her right arm to throb violently so she slowed down and fell behind Bulkhead, cruising. Bumblebee noticed instantly. _*Are you okay Hope? Do you need to go back?*_

_*No, I'm fine Bee, my arm's hurting but I'll be okay.*_ She tried to ease his worry. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Bumblebee's continuous worrying was a sign her liked her. She shoved the thought away, as it only confused her further. _*Are you two still having a movie night, right?* _Bulkhead pierced the silence. _*Yeah, why?* _Bumblebee commented. _*Miko wanted to know if she could hang out.*_ Hope felt the same mixed emotions as Bumblebee. They wanted their own night to themselves but they could wake. _*Of course she can.*_ Hope answered, knowing there was no way around it. _*She wants to know if she can bring scary movies.*_ _*Of course.* _Bumblebee replied swiftly. Hope knew his motives for agreeing to the horror movies. He knew if she freaked, he would be there to calm her down. He was acting upon the human term, the oldest trick in the book.

His word perplexed her though. If he liked her, why hadn't he told her? She realized, maybe during the movie night he would have told her and her spark sank. She had severed his chance. _*Are you all right Hope?* _This time Bulkhead interrupted her thoughts. _*Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking, I have a lot on my mind.* *I see.*_ The mech fell quiet as they continued the patrol. Bulkhead slowed down and Hope did as well. _*Why are you slowing down?* _Hope asked curiously. Stuck behind the mech, she couldn't see anything in front. _*There's an eighteen wheeler that looks like it's blown a couple tires.*_ Bulkhead replied. Hope groaned inwardly, but backed up when a human yelled, "Get that hunk of junk off the road!"

The human truck driver didn't reply but the enraged human continued to scream at the driver. Hope felt bad for the truck driver, knowing he was only doing his job and a blown tire was a bad day. _*This could take a while.*_ Bumblebee groaned. _*Yeah, we're stuck now.*_ Bulkhead added as a new wave of humans rolled up, only to discover the traffic jam. Again, Hope groaned inwardly, feeling as if the world was closing in on her. _*You okay Hope?*_ Bumblebee asked at her side. _*Yeah, just feeling claustrophobic.* _She squeaked. Her spark pounded heavily in her chest as the panic set in. The human behind her crept closer impatiently and honked angrily, as if his actions going to make everything speed up.

She eased closer to Bulkhead's bumper just to feel a little less crowded. _*It's okay Hope.*_ Bulkhead attempted to calm her. Hope remained quiet, struggling not to transform and run. She desperately wanted to escape from the cramped space but she was completely surrounded. The hours dragged by while Hope's panic worsened. As the sun set, she felt a horrible flashback of her father coming on, one of her father binding and gagging her then pitching her into the closet. She remembered how the darkness surrounded her, suffocating her as it swallowed her up. She thrashed out and screamed, her wildly beating spark stopped and her rapid intakes faltered. No longer on the bridge, she was surrounded by rocks that casted evil shadows upon her robot form.

Her intakes and her spark returned just as rapidly, if not faster as the shadows trapped her. She emitted a piercing scream and writhed desperately in an attempt to flee. Two powerful hands gripped her wrists and she instantly lashed out. A heavy grunt followed her punch and her optics popped when Libel's frame loomed above her. "No, no! You're dead!" She cried and fought his tight grip. Lurching forward, her helm collided with his and he released her. Another pair of hands pinned her down and her mouth went dry seeing Libel's 'best friend'. "No, no!" She howled and thrashed in pure desperation. She punched and kicked the mech, fighting harder when the mech refused to let go.

The mech took several fierce blows from the young femme before her pinned her fully, with both hands forcing down her hands and feet. She continued to struggle to free herself but she halted when Libel loomed overhead again. Shaking uncontrollably, Hope watched as the mech sank to his knee, hate glimmering in his optics. He reached forward with both hands and Hope jerked back, squealing. The mech managed to clasp her cheeks in his hands, gently. _'Hope, calm down, it's me. Please calm down.' _The mech's voice of beeps, whirs and warbles surprised her because she recognized it and she glanced up. Libel no longer had piercing crimson optics; instead, he had baby blue optics wide with worry.

She glanced over at the mech's acquaintance and he too had the same worried, blue optics. Slowly, Hope let herself fall limp and looked back at Libel completely confused, her breathing and sparkbeat still swift in panic. _'It's okay Hope, it's me, Bumblebee.'_ The mech spoke again with the same odd sounds as before. Panic fading and bewilderment setting in, she gazed up at Libel after rebooting her optics several times. The mech's bright blue flames and black armour faded to yellow and black, with a form much smaller than Libel. "B-Bumblebee?" Hope whispered and the young mech nodded. Her helm turned to Libel's friend and the larger mech's mud brown armour slowly faded to a dark green. "Bulkhead?" She squeaked and the mech nodded.

Gradually, she inspected her surroundings and the malicious scenery shifted. Haunting shadows and steep rock faces morphed to canyon walls, she recognized. Bulkhead released her and Bumblebee helped her sit up. "Wh-what, happened?" She managed; double checking to make certain everything was real. "You were freaking out on the highway, so Bee and I took you here." Bulkhead informed her, still looking worried. _'Doc told me how to get you to bot form on the road and you've been…'_ The young mech paused. _'Seeing, things, since then.'_ "We were just lucky the traffic was diverted and cleared after the big rig was hauled off." Bulkhead added. Hope blinked once and rested her right hand on her throbbing left side, grimacing softly.

The stab wound on her right arm had opened and energon oozed from the hole sickeningly. Her entire frame throbbed as if she endured a beating and she noticed mounds of soft sand around her. _'You were bashing yourself on the ground as if you were fighting off a demon so we drug up some sand to stop you from harming yourself.'_ Bumblebee explained, seeing her perplexed expression. "H-How long?" Hope whispered. Both mechs glanced at each other. "Several hours." Bulkhead murmured. Bumblebee pulled her gently to him. _'I never thought you would stop.'_ He hesitated and clutched her close. Hope fell limp against him and felt safe in his arms. _'I was so scared.'_ He whispered almost inaudibly.

Hope rubbed her cheek against the mech's chest soothingly, causing the stressed mech to relax. _'We're not far from base; do you think you can make it?'_ Bumblebee asked gently. She nodded quietly and the young mech released her, standing slowly. He offered her a hand and she stood slowly with his help, groaning softly at her throbbing frame. Bumblebee quickly supported her at her left side and nodded to Bulkhead. The larger mech took point and Hope hobbled along after him, using Bumblebee as a crutch. Her helm hung low in exhaustion, her body ached and as they approached the base, she began trembling. Bumblebee glanced at her worriedly and Hope glanced back reassuringly. "I'm okay." She panted Bumblebee shifted her and supported more of her weight, easing some of her pain.

_ 'Just a little further.'_ Bumblebee encouraged her. Hope nodded weakly and leaned a little more against Bumblebee. The young mech accepted and made it easier for Hope to walk. Ratchet waited anxiously at the entrance to the base and his emotions created a wall that hurt Hope when she passed through. She groaned softly, her face twisting in pain as discomfort radiated through her helm. Bumblebee placed her gently on a berth worriedly, his optics glinting in fear. She smiled weakly at him, attempting to ease his fears but Ratchet shooed him out of the medical back before it could work well. The medic returned to her and began his examination quietly. Hope grimaced at every poke and prod, struggling not to swat his hand away.

The mech noticed and stopped, resting his hand on her cheek. Thankfully, his emotions calmed and all Hope felt was his worry. "Do you remember anything during your flashback?" He asked, removing his hand to open the panel in his arm. "No, I don't remember my actions, but I remember the visions." She spoke quietly, shivering as the scanning beam passed over her. The tingling sensation passed and Ratchet relaxed. "None of your internals were damaged. Seems the worse injures right now are the gash and stab wounds on your arms." He closed his arm panel and readied a small concoction of painkiller and sedative. Hope squirmed as the mech approached. "It's okay Hope; this will ease your pain." She flinched at the pinprick but the pain faded swiftly. "Relax Hope." Ratchet murmured. Hope nodded as numbness replaced aching and she became drowsy. She glanced up at Ratchet one last time before allowing herself to drift off, with help from the sedative.

* * *

When Hope awoke, she was surprised to find Bumblebee curled up in a chair near her, out cold. She didn't know how the mech wedged his legs onto the chair but the scene was quite comical. She smiled softly at his dedication, but his closeness made her spark swim. She was distracted temporarily by low voices in Ratchet's room but as soon as she realized Smokescreen was talking to the medic, she returned her attention to the young mech. "Bee." She whispered. "Bee." Her voice rose in volume but the mech remained out cold. "Bee." She barked, just loud enough to wake the mech. He jumped awake and his optics widened as he nearly tumbled out of his chair. He squirmed and popped his legs from the chair, stretching his cramping legs. _'Good morning Hope.'_ He stretched the rest of his body, his optics gleaming happily.

He came to her side and rubbed his cheek against hers, while Hope responded in the same way. "Sleep well?" She giggled and he nodded, returning to his seat. _'Feel better today?' _He asked. "Yeah." She replied calmly. Her body no longer ached as badly and she could move somewhat without pain. The pair fell into a comfortable silence and Bumblebee steadily became more nervous. _'Hope, can I-' _The young mech paused and both looked up as Smokescreen and Ratchet left the medic's office. Smokescreen's optics brightened and he walked swiftly to her. "You look better this morning." He stated. Hope smiled softly at him as Ratchet came to her opposite side. "Are you feeling any better?" Ratchet asked. Hope nodded firmly and sat up slowly. The medic checked her over quickly and nodded in agreement. "Do you recall any more from yesterday? As you put it, your actions?"

Hope shook her helm. "No. just what I imagined." She replied, still unsettled by the fact she had the flashbacks. She thought they stopped after Libel passed but apparently, she was still prone to them. "Are you able to tell me about them?" Ratchet pressed, unsure if she would. "I-I think so." She answered quietly. With a deep breath, she informed the medic about what her mind saw, being bound, gagged and thrown in a closet by her enraged step-father. She told him about the darkness of the closet and the terror she felt as the inkiness closed in on her. By the time she finished telling them about her experiences, her entire small form shook uncontrollably. Smokescreen instantly hugged her and she saw Bumblebee peeking at her behind Smokescreen. She gave the trio of mechs a weak smile and calmed down.

"Hope, I don't want you to go on patrols without another bot with you. I want you to avoid the highways if possible and if you start thinking about your past, talk to anybot you can. It may help prevent flashbacks." Hope nodded quietly and Ratchet shooed the mechs out of the medical bay, retrieving something from his desk. "Hope, I received this yesterday. I believe it is from your father, Concord." Hope took the datapad from the medic, speechless as she stared at the datapad. "Thank you Ratchet." She breathed and glanced up at him. The medic nodded and allowed Smokescreen to return, while Hope put the datapad in her subspace, wincing lightly as her arm throbbed at the movement. Ratchet cleaned and healed the stab wound, but it still needed time to heal, especially after it busted open the previous day.

"She may go." Ratchet said calmly and returned to his work. Smokescreen smiled happily and scooped her up, with a squeal from Hope. The young femme quickly relaxed as he carried her bridal style to the recreational room. She relaxed contently on the couch smiling as Raf looked up at her beaming. "Hope!" He cried happily and Hope helped him up to her chest, holding the little human close. "Are you okay?" He asked her worriedly. "I'm fine little one." She purred reassuringly, gently rubbing his back. "Good." He stated firmly and hugged her hand. "We still on for scary movie night?" Miko burst, interrupting their bonding moment. Hope nodded quietly. "Sure." She chuckled and eased Raf to the floor. The child returned to his computer and Hope smiled. She realized she felt close to the young humans and would do anything to keep them safe.

Hope made her way to her room wearily, still jumpy from the marathon of horror movies. Being past midnight, the halls were silent, a bit too silent for a now paranoid young femme. She quickened her pace, despite being exhausted, and slipped quietly into the room. Smokescreen was sprawled out on the berth but Hope managed to squeeze onto it with him. She felt comforted by his warmth as she took out the datapad, glancing at the passed out mech beside her and turned it on, curling up on her right side. A weak smile tugged on her lips upon seeing the mech's perfect and neat hand writing, instead of her own imperfect scrawl. Just another thing she inherited from her mother. Upon closer inspection, she found the English grammar correct, with no sign of slang or abbreviation, at least the first paragraph was. She huffed softly in laughter and took a deep breath. Readying herself, she began to read.

_To whom this may concern,_

_If found without my body, I wish this datapad to be sent to my sparkmate, Aspire; if possible. If she did not survive the abuse inflicted upon her, then I wish this message to go to my daughter, Faith. This is my will and testimony. If I am truly dead, then I wish to be buried with my sparkmate. If that cannot happen, then I wish for my body to be used as spare parts for the Autobot cause. If neither my mate nor sparkling survived, delete this message and use it for something helpful._

There was a break in the text for the signature of the writer and one for a witness. Hauntingly similar to a humans will. Hope trembled lightly, tears coming to her optics. She reread the first few lines and nearly sobbed. If her father truly died, then she would never be able to meet him. Her spark sank but she forced herself to keep reading. The note shifted to a normal letter, instead of a will.

_To my love, Aspire,_

_If you are still alive, I want to make this short. I still love you. It has been so long since I've seen you and I wish I never left you. My spark no longer feels yours and I fear, you're no longer alive. I miss you Aspire, and even if you are dead, I still love you. I worry for you, and Faith. If you're still alive Faith, I still love you too. You will always be my baby girl and I will never forget you. I imagine you as a strong, healthy femme right now, hopefully, without that bastard step-father. I hope you're no longer with him and you have a replacement that loves you. I wish I could be there for you. I love you sweetspark and I wish I never let you go. Maybe one day we'll find each other. I have to go now though, I love you both._

Hope scrolled down desperately, in hopes of finding more of his writing. Her spirits dropped when she didn't, but they lifted when she found a note at the bottom in handwriting that was worse than her handwriting. She squinted but still struggled to read it.

_Concord is still alive, he sent me to deliver this. I promise I didn't read any of this but I wanted to let you people know, he's alive. He returned from his mission healthy and still missing you._

_ Messenger: 'Swifty' Winger_

Hope sighed softly in relief, happy to learn her father might still be alive. She found several more folders at the bottom of the note, listed with different names. She wanted to dig, but she was exhausted. Putting the datapad away, she shoved Smokescreen over some and tucked against her on her left side. The letter from her father calmed her fears from the movies and she recharged peacefully.


	41. Chaos

_AN: __Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope awoke with a strained groan. Her optics fritzed heavily and her audios were filled with static. A ragged intake left her chocking on the smoke and soot surrounding her. She lifted her helm slowly and, through her static filled vision, saw the remains of the base, a massive scorched pile of concrete chunks and melted, warped steel. Weakly, she tried to drag herself from beneath a large chunk of concrete pinning her, only to cry out in severe pain. She twisted herself painfully around to face her right leg and, by the small amount of light given by the flames, saw her thigh punctured and pinned by a thick piece of rebar. She groaned again and dug her fingers into the loose ruble around her, starting to feel the pain.

She gritted her denta hard as she twisted and squirmed around, trying to get to her knife Optimus had given back to her before they went to Cybertron to find the Omega Lock. She clutched the handle of the knife and ripped it from the sheath, barely able to do so. Her arm flopped back to the earth, knife in hand, and Hope was relieved the reinforced bar of steel missed damaging the blade by just a few inches. Hope readied herself, allowing her vision to clear further before facing her leg and swiping at the steel bar. In a fluid motion, the blade glided through the steel but caused the slab of concrete held up by the bar to fall back onto her leg.

Breathing hard, she pressed her hands to the earth, still clasping the knife, and shoved herself to her hands and knees, hoping the steel wasn't connected at another level. The concrete flew onto its opposite side, to Hope's relief, and she allowed herself to collapse back to the ground. Panting, she sheathed her knife and lied on her stomach until her hearing and vision fully clear. He damaged doorwings twitched, barely able to feel the vibrations of approaching jets overhead over the pain. With determination, Hope forced herself to stand, gasping sharply in agony the entire way. She glanced around the smoldering remains and recalled storing her belongings in her subspace before the walls crumbled.

She shook her helm. She didn't have time to think about that. She needed to hide, quickly, as the planes approached swiftly. Staggering away from where she stood, she spotted something sticking from a pile of concrete. She stumbled to it and realized it was Optimus' hand jutting from beneath the heap. With tears in her optics, she gripped the hand and gave a weak squeeze, earning a feeble squeeze back. She fought back a squeak as she suddenly lurched forward, and passed through the molecules of the rubble. She tumbled into an open space with a heavy, disoriented groan. "Hope? Primus Hope." She suddenly found herself picked up and hugged by an unseen mech.

"Smokey?" She whispered, recognizing his smell. "Yeah Hope. I'm here. Hope baby, what happened?" He whispered. Hope glanced down at her leg, where Smokescreen was looking. "I got caught up in the confusion and didn't make it out with Bee and Raf." She replied and glanced at Optimus. The once mighty leader lay limply on his back and Hope could hear him struggling to cycle air. She sat up slowly and crawled over to him, ignoring Smokescreen's protests. She no longer felt the pain from her wound and Hope recognized the symptom as a sign her body was going into shock. Optimus was more important than she was, and Hope knew from her first glance the mech had extensive injuries she couldn't fix, but she fixed what she could now, after retrieving her medical kit.

Exhausted after patching Optimus up, Hope hauled herself away from the mech; flopping onto her back not caring if she squashed her doorwings. "Hope." Smokescreen whispered behind her and she sat up slowly. Her helm hung low and she struggled to remoisten her dry mouth. "Yeah Daddy?" She panted and gazed at him weakly. He paused and studied her quietly. "You need to fix yourself." He ordered. Hope nodded quietly. "Okay, I will." She extended her leg and groaned. "Hold my leg down." She breathed. The mech did as she instructed and she gripped the chunk of metal. She didn't have the skill to remove it from her leg surgically, so she clutched the piece of rebar protruding from her thigh, and readied herself with a trembling intake.

"On three." She breathed out and Smokescreen began counting for her. "One…" Hope gripped the metal tighter. "Two…" Before he reached three, she ripped the foreign object from her body with a scream of agony. She slumped forward and Smokescreen caught her. She remained limp in his arms as her mind coped with the pain. No amount of preparation could have added up to the pain she felt, not even Libel's beatings equaled up to the agony. It worried her, as she feared the bar might have broken her leg strut. Collecting herself, she straightened back up with Smokescreen's help and with trembling hands, began to fix what she could. She fell into a melancholy state, fixing herself, clamping energon lines, reconnection wired, taping or welding to make them stay, weakening herself further as she poured into her work.

The only breaks she received were pausing as Smokescreen dug through her medical kit to find an item. She finished her repairs, bandaged her legs, returned her tools to her medical kit; then slumped against Smokescreen. She panted and rested, her body trembling subtly. "You okay Hope?" Smokescreen asked. The femme nodded once and swallowed, prying her glossia from the roof of her mouth. "I'm alright Daddy. Thought my leg was worse than it is. Still hurts thought. Feels like a broken strut, but not from this wound." "Could it be your knee again?" He asked. Hope paused in thought. "Possibly, if so I'll have to set it before I recharge." She pulled her kit to her lap and retrieved her handheld scanner from the worn metal box.

The scanner was a gift from Ratchet, before the team split, and he showed her the workings. The thing was far from being new. It had finger grips worn into it from years of use, and various weld marks indicating multiple repairs. As her medical kit box, the welder was a hand down but Hope didn't mind. Both worked, as they should so she had no complaints. Continuing with her task, she turned on the scanner and allowed the system to boot up, smiling inwardly at the memory of Ratchet cursing angrily at the scanner as the old computer system within turned on. She shoved the thought from her helm as the small machine beeped, ready for use. She saw the scanner trembling in her hand as she held it.

She shoved it into the scanner into Smokescreen's hands and his optics widened. "Press here, then here." She instructed. "Keep it steady." The mech nodded and did what she told. She took the devise back as soon as the scan stopped, not noticing the scanner's beam. Hope groaned softly at the results and returned to scanner to her kit after turning it off. "What's wrong?" Smokescreen asked. "The fracture cracked further." She murmured. Smokescreen gazed at her. "Does it have to be set?" Hope shook her helm. "No, it should heal after I rest." She wriggled onto her back and Smokescreen lied beside her to warm her. After everything the pair went through in the day, both bots passed out almost instantly.


	42. Problem

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope refused to rouse at the fierce shaking of her shoulder and desperate calling of her name from Smokescreen. The more she ignored him, the worse the shacking became though so, reluctantly, she onlined a weary optics and gazed at him weakly, after he gave a particularly panicked outburst. "What?" She rasped, not bringing her face off the cool floor. "The welds on your leg broke open and you're bleeding badly." He panted in a terrified reply. A tad confused, Hope glanced down at her thigh and found the wound oozing energon and covering the rest of her thigh. She cursed inwardly, knowing she must have rolled around in her recharge, probably in a dream she didn't recall. Waking on her side was proof she moved in her recharge.

She sat up with Smokescreen's help and took various supplies from her first aid kit. With trembling hands, she cleaned off her leg, relieved to find only a couple wires and fuel lines broken. Still it worried her because of the massive amount of energon lost from the bust. She concluded her body lacked vital components needed to heal and stop bleeding. She repaired the lines and quickly sterilized the wound, infection already leaving its mark with her abnormally warm body temperature. "Daddy?" She breathed. "Yeah little one?" Smokescreen answered instantly. "Can you go upside and search for energon?" Hope asked quietly. The mech paused and gazed down at her. He nodded finally. "Fine, just promise you'll rest…" Hope nodded. "I promise." Smokescreen relaxed in relief and eased her to her side.

"Thank you Daddy." She murmured tiredly. The mech gave her a loving smile. "You're welcome sweetspark." He kissed the top of her helm in goodbye and left with a look of worry upon his face. The young femme dozed as she waited, drained from loss of energon. Her arm ached just as badly as her leg, preventing the young femme from actually falling into recharge. Her body desperately needed energon as it was still transitioning to an adult like metabolism. The change drained her body and adding severe injuries worsened her health. She was exhausted and just wanted energon. Lifting her helm groggily at the sound of Smokescreen's arrival, she watched the mech approach slowly, clutching a damaged cube.

With the amount of energon coating his fingers and his pure concentration, Hope knew he was trying his best to save the remaining energon. The mech kneeled at her side and handed the cube to her after she sat up painfully. She gazed at the remnants of the cube, just a couple drinks worth swirling around the bottom of the cracked container. She meant to sip the sweet liquid but she ended up gulping down the precious liquid, placing the empty, mangled cube to her left. "I'm sorry Hope. I searched, but I didn't find any other energon. I didn't have much time to search with the Decepticons still poking around." He sighed. The young femme shrugged. "You tried your best. The energon will last for a while." She told him. "I'm already feeling better."

The mech smiled and sat, wiping the energon coating his hands on the earth. Hope lay back down and gazed at the container, wondering if Fox was alive. She didn't know if the older femme escaped and, in a way, she worried for Fox. Hope shifted brushing the thoughts away. Fox was a grown femme after all. The young femme gazed at the cube, lost in her thoughts as she studied the intricate cracks on the battered surface. She paused and blinked, glancing at the recumbent Smokescreen. "Daddy, can I ask you something?" The mech's helm turned to her. "Sure you can Hope." The young femme sighed. "The day you found me, why did you look for me?" The question had been bothering her for a while. The mech released an intake and stared at the ceiling. "When I heard you screaming, and you didn't stop…" He paused, trying to word his feelings correctly. "I figured you didn't have a bot to care for you. It reminded me of, well, me. I was new and few of the team members interacted with me, and no bot seemed to be there for you. Even after asking Ratchet if I should see what was happening and receiving an, 'It's normal' response, I couldn't bring myself to ignore you. I figured you were just as lonely as I was, and everybot needs some bot to talk to."

Hope smiled quietly, fighting her light tears. Smokescreen continued. "When I found you, I really couldn't leave you. I never thought we would end up here, but I don't mind." He smiled warmly and rubbed her cheek. "I was so happy when Boss Bot allowed me to take care of you." The young femme rubbed her cheek against his hand. "You've been a great daddy." Smokescreen flooded with happiness and joy. "Thank you Hope." She smiled brighter but her attention turned to Optimus as he took in a heavy, ragged breath. Hope forced herself up painfully, hobbling over to the mech quickly. She settled on her knees at his left side while Smokescreen stood at his right. Hope ignored the agony she felt from her knee and inspected Optimus.

At first, she thought the flash of blue from his optics was just light from Smokescreen's optics reflecting back, but it fluttered several more times and eventually remained online. Hope inspected them closely, as they gazed at the ceiling. They dilated properly to her relief, lowering her worry of severe CPU damage. Slowly, Optimus began focusing on her, then Smokescreen, his attention shifting between the pair. The two bright orbs eventually dimmed then flickered off. The sound of his slowed intakes revealed he fell into recharge and Hope relaxed somewhat. Obviously, now his injuries weren't as bad as before and his self-repair systems were finally working, but she worried because his optics only remained online for a short time. He was still incredibly weak and, seeing the slight dullness, lacked energon. Smokescreen glanced at her. "I'm going topside." He told her then left.

Hope sighed wearily, rubbing her face. On a whim, she attempted a communication link and found only static. She cut the link and tipped her helm to the side, slowly removing the damaged devise, hard to do alone. She knew the trio was too far down for the Decepticons to trace the link and it eased her fears. She retrieved her medical kit and repaired the link, to keep her hands and mind busy. The repairs on her link were easy so she finished quickly. She replaced the small devise, still thinking of how easily the small object was damaged. She sighed softly and readjusted her sitting position. She stretched out her knees and massaged her bad one, easing her pain. She glanced at Optimus, looking him over once more. Seeing the severity of the injuries once again, she removed a stack of datapads from her subspace, a stack Ratchet gave her, and poured into the medical notes.

So focused on her reading, she didn't notice Smokescreen return. "What are you doing Hope?" The datapad on her lap clattered to the floor as the young femme jumped, her spark pounding in surprise. She sighed slightly and her shoulders and doorwings slumped. "I'm sorry Hope, I thought you noticed me enter." He patted her shoulder and picked up the datapad she had been reading. The femme shrugged off his apology wincing heavily at her doorwings' movement and took the datapad. "Thanks." She murmured softly. "You okay Hope?" She nodded at his question and read once more. "I scoured the entire base and I didn't find any medical supplies, not even a Band-Aid." Hope glanced at the stressed mech. "It's okay Smokey, I'll have enough to last Optimus for a while." Smokescreen stared at her firmly. "I wasn't looking for supplies for him. Hope you need to rest and take care of yourself." He said firmly. Hope shook her helm. "Optimus comes before me. He's our leader and more important."

Smokescreen sighed. "Okay, let me at least take off your doorwings. It'll ease your pain." Hope agreed and read as the mech crouched behind her. "I didn't know you could remove doorwings." She stated. "I was taught by a medic on Cybertron, though it's much easier removing another bot's doorwings." Hope smiled softly and moved into the next datapad. The pair fell silent and Hope became completely wrapped up in her reading once more. Her frame relaxed as her damaged doorwings were removed and placed them to the side. She thanked him quietly and continued reading. She finished the stack of datapads and returned them to her subspace. She glanced at Optimus again and sighed. The reading had little useful information and she was a bit disheartened.

Lying on her back, she stared at the ceiling. "Daddy?" She murmured. "Yeah little one?" He answered to her right and she looked over at him. "Can we talk for a little Smokey?" The mech nodded and settled beside her. "What do you need to talk about sweetspark?" He was a bit nervous. She sat up restlessly and rubbed her knee. "A little before all this scrap happened, Ratchet gave me a datapad, a letter." She paused. "From Concord, my real dad." Smokescreen's optics widened. "Really? What did he say?" "Mainly, he loved he loved Mom and I and he, he misses us." She whispered. "Aren't you happy about that?" Smokescreen asked gently. She leaned forward, resting her arms on her thighs. "I guess I should be, but it just confuses me more. My spark says he loved me and yearns to trust him, but instincts say he might be deceiving me… I've never met the mech, yet a love him as if I have, but I'm terrified at the same time. I don't want him to be like Libel." She whispered fearfully.

Smokescreen rubbed her back lovingly. "Hope, in my short amount of experience, I've learned a few things. If a mech writes to you from across a galaxy and tells you he loves you, he probably does. It means he's dedicated, loves you and most of all, he worries about you. No mech would worry about you if they hated you. He loves you, a good father would, and wants the best for you." Hope hesitated in her response, relaxing at the silence. "Thank you Daddy." She murmured finally and hugged him. "You don't have to call me that anymore." He replied. Hope smiled softly. "Dad might still be alive but he's still just my father. You're my daddy and the only on I know." She replied and kissed his cheek. The mech sniffled and wiped away a tear. "You're still my sparkling." He whispered. She giggled softly and the pair fell into a comfortable silence.

"Do you have any pictures of him Hope?" Smokescreen broke the silence. Hope nodded and quickly released the mech from her hug. "Yeah, and videos too." She added, bringing out the letter from her father. She turned the datapad on and Smokescreen sat quietly beside her as they waited for it to boot up. She spent hours after reading the letter to look through the pictures and make her own folders for them. It took a long time, but now, she merely tapped on the folder of her favorite pictures and videos. She scrolled through the pictures until she found the one she was searching to find. She selected it and watched Smokescreen break into a smile. _A sparkling Hope curled up contently in her berth. The little femme's smile was peaceful as she recharged comfortably under her pink blanket, while her father leaned over her and kissed the side of her small helm. His optics glimmered in pride as he gazed down at his sparkling._ "That is the face of a loving father." Smokescreen stated brightly.

Hope nodded once in agreement and showed him many more pictures, almost all of them containing Hope, her father, and her mother. She finally landed on a favorite video and played it. _Her father was slumped against her berth in a deep recharge. His chest rose and fell steadily, as did his wings. Aspire entered the field of the camera and she rested a hand on his shoulder. "Concord." The mech awoke instantly and lifted his helm, revealing a tiny femme with a death grip on his finger. He smiled at his mate then gazed back to the sparkling. He gently pulled his finger away and shifted so that his side, not his back faced the camera. Without her father's fingers clutched in her tiny hand, the femme awoke and gazed around curiously. She cooed and wriggled at her mother, but she lit up when her round optics landed on her father. _

_She chirped and cooed, squirming and kicking in an attempt to get closer to him. The mech's exhausted optics flickered to Aspire. "Can we hold her yet?" The femme shook her helm sadly. "Only the nurses can." Her father sighed and rubbed the smaller femme's cheek gently. Hope chirped happily at her father's touch and her optics followed her mother as Aspire sat on the other side. "I wish I could hold her." The mech sighed and rested his helm on the berth. The little femme smiled and rested his helm on the berth. The little femme smiled and stopped her wriggling. He rested his finger into her hand and she held fast, refusing to let go. "I love you both." Her father murmured. _

The video cut out shortly afterwards and Smokescreen brushed back his tears. "He obviously held you eventually, but what happened after that?" "He was deployed." Hope replied. "Mom never saw him again and neither did I. He didn't see us either." Smokescreen rubbed her shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find him eventually." He murmured reassuringly. Hope smiled softly and returned to her datapad. She found another video for him to watch as she checked over Optimus. The mech seemed to be doing a little better but the wheezing in his intakes worried her. The sound could be caused by internal damage. She sighed and let her helm hang low. The fight to live was all on him, she could do nothing more, feeling helpless watching him struggle without being able to help him. Smokescreen patted her shoulder. "I know you can't fix him up like Ratchet but you still did a good job." He reassured her.

Hope nodded and placed her datapad back into her subspace after he gave it back. Both bots were about to give him some space when the large mech's optics onlined slowly. "Smokescreen…" He rasped weakly to their surprise. "Yeah Optimus?" Smokescreen replied quickly. "The Forge…" Optimus' optics focused on them. Hope watched the younger mech's optics widened. "With the Forge you could fix yourself up." Smokescreen spoke excitedly. The leader didn't give a response as he drifted back into recharge. Smokescreen glanced between Hope and Optimus. "I need to get the Forge." He said quickly and stood. "Be careful." Hope told him firmly. He nodded but paused. "Wait, you're not coming?" Hope shook her helm. "My leg's still healing and I'd only slow you down." Smokescreen nodded quietly. "Okay, I love you. Stay safe."

"I will." She promised. "Go, he needs help." The mech nodded and left quickly. Hope watched quietly and glanced at Optimus, crawling weakly over to the massive mech. Painfully, she settled beside him, listening to the mech's spark. It wasn't as powerful as it should have bee, but at least his spark continued to beat. Usually, Hope would invade his space but she was cold and a tad lonely. Wriggling closer to him, she rested her cheek against his chest and curled close. She saw his fingers twitch on his opposing hand and she calmed. She allowed herself to drift slowly off from exhaustion, relaxed against his warmth.


	43. Morphed

_AN: Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_CanonxOC fluff ahead_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

"Hope…" In the deep blanket of recharge, the young femme didn't respond to the distant voice. "Hope…" She squirmed and whined softly as the voice became louder. Her body instinctively began to online and her audios were the first to boot up completely. "Hope…" Her optics slowly onlined and she lifted her helm weakly. She didn't recognize the soft, rasping voice and it confused her. She didn't know who had been speaking until she glanced at Optimus' onlined optics. Her optics flickered in surprise and she sat up painfully. She saw the relief in his exhausted optics as she moved away from him. "Hope…" He paused catching his breath. "I believe… the time… for a new Prime… is upon us…" He paused once more. "I believe the next Prime… is standing before me…"

Hope's optics widened and she recoiled, thinking the mech was talking to her, but then she noticed the leader's optics were focused on Smokescreen. The mech had not heard as he was dragging the Forge into the small cavern. "Smokescreen…" The young mech instantly turned to Optimus. "Optimus, I have the Forge, you can fix yourself up now." The leader took in a heavy intake. "No. The Forge's power is limited… and it has nearly been drained… The remaining power needs to be used… for the… Omega Lock… to save our home…" The mech paused, with each word, struggling to speak, and weakening. "What about you Optimus?" Hope asked, seeing the fear in Smokescreen's face. "A change in Primes… has come…" Optimus answered. "Smokescreen, you have the makings… of a Prime… The Matrix of Leadership… will choose you… I am certain…"

"Optimus..." Smokescreen protested in distress. The leader offered no response, his optics had glazed over and he stared blankly over their helms. "Did he really mean it?" Smokescreen whispered. "I don't know." Hope answered quickly. She checked Optimus' stats swiftly and she swallowed hard at his plunging sparkbeat. The pair glanced nervously at one another. "Who… who stands before me?" Optimus whispered, his optics still gazing listlessly at the ceiling. Smokescreen sank to the leader's side. "It's me Optimus, Smokescreen, and Hope." Once more, the leader offered no answer, and Hope watched hopelessly as his frame slowly fell limp. His listless optics dulled and Hope squirmed nervously. "Optimus." Smokescreen managed, watching the leader decline. Only silence came from the leader's parted lips and the large mech's intakes slowed.

With one final, ragged, intake and release, Optimus' body slumped and his optics and spark sputtered offline. The father-daughter duo watched in shock as the mech's chest armour opened with a grinding of metal and gears, very similar to transformation sounds. Both bots stared in shock, staring at the Matrix of Leadership. "No." he whispered. "I'm not a Prime." He glanced at the Forge desperately and Hope helped him place the handle into the leader's palm. Instantly, the Forge whined to life and glowed fiercely, increasing in luminosity. It released a burst of blinding light and raw energy, causing Hope to crumple and blackout from the overwhelming amount of sheer power.

* * *

"Hope?" The young femme's optics flew online at the sound of her name in Smokescreen's fearful voice and she sat up with no resistance from her thigh and knee, not becoming dizzy from sitting up too swiftly. She stared at what used to be a penetration wound, healed most likely by the Forge's power, leaving only a round little scar where the metal punctured her leg. The wounds on her arms had healed in a similar manner and she no longer had a resounding helmache, brought on by the crack in her helm. She felt great, energized and rejuvenated, and, with a quick scan of her systems, she found her body functioning optimally. Her optics widened in sudden realization and she looked up at Smokescreen. "Optimus?" She asked. "He's fine Hope." Smokescreen reassured her. "He left as soon as I phased us out to handle that." He motioned to the large Decepticon fortress, Darkmount.

"Are you okay Hope?" The young femme looked away from the towering Decepticon outpost and smiled at him. "Yeah, Primus I feel great." She replied. The mech relaxed then transformed. "Come on; let's try to get in on some fun." Smokescreen spoke with forced optimism, trying to cover his worry. Hope followed in transforming to her car alt. mode, hitting the same lag she had since she learned to transform. Ratchet told her the lag was just a slight glitch in her transformation process and probably would never become hazardous to her health. Hope didn't worry about it much, the lag was just a split second pause, almost a hesitation, but only happened once when she transformed and didn't stop her transformation. She hoped the Forge would have fixed it but she could live with the glitch.

Smokescreen revved his engine and bolted, tearing through the loose dirt, pelting Hope with dirt by accident. The stinging pain snapped Hope into action and she gave chase, catching up easily. _*Smokey, what's wrong?*_ She asked quietly through the communication link. She figured she could use it, considering the Decepticons were probably too busy fighting Optimus to track them. _*It's nothing.* _He replied reluctantly as the pair hit the highway. _*Daddy, you get onto me for lying to you and not telling you what's wrong.*_ She pointed out. There was a pause before Smokescreen replied. _*Okay, okay… When the burst from the Forge knocked us out, I woke up before you. You know that because I was trying to wake you. Optimus and I, we woke before you and you had no reaction to my attempts to rouse you. You were out for about four hours and with each passing minute, I was terrified you weren't going to wake up.*_

The mech stopped talking for a moment and his emotions churned. _*I didn't think you would ever return to consciousness.*_ Hope remained silent, unable to respond to the mech's distress. All she could think to do was send out a gentle pulse to the mech, showing she was still alive, through their empathic bond. _*Smokescreen.*_ She finally spoke. _*Daddy, I would never leave you so easily. I still have you to fight for.*_ Smokescreen responded with a happy pulse and the two fell quiet, only to skid to a halt, transforming as an explosion rocked Darkmount. "Aw man, we missed the fun." Smokescreen whined as Darkmount began crumbling. Hope smiled softly and patted his arm. "Sometimes it's for the best." He huffed as a sparkling would and returned to his car mode. Hope followed and soon the pair was racing towards Darkmount in hopes of finding the rest of the team.

An ice blue blur streaked past the pair, and Hope quickly pulled a one-eighty, brakes screeching. Her back end fishtailed, but she regained control and barreled after the bright car. _*Hope!* _Smokescreen cried. _*What's wrong?*_ She ignored the mech's question and focused on the car in front of her. She knew who the car was, but she worried for his companion. She heard Smokescreen skid to a halt to follow her and once more, she returned her attention to the car. The car swerved off the road quickly, and Hope followed, easily transitioning to the loose dirt. The blue car was having more difficulty, swerving uncontrollably and fishtailing regularly. The driving showed the mech obviously unaccustomed to driving. The mech halted suddenly and a cloud of dust, transforming into a familiar figure. Before the mech could turn, Hope transformed and launched herself at the mech.

She tackled the mech to the earth and they rolled. Hope easily pinned the mech to his stomach and, of course, he struggled. "'Breaker…" She spoke quietly. The surprised mech instantly stopped fighting and fell limp. "Hope, is that you?" He managed. Hope released him. "Yeah, it is." She paused. "Wait, how do you know my real name?" She questioned. The mech took in a deep breath and sat up. "When you showed up, I checked the files and found yours." The mech told the truth. Hope looked away with her jaw clenched, optics watering. "So, you lied? I never considered you to be so much like a Decepticon." The mech didn't respond for a while. "I'm sorry Hope." He whispered. She felt his severe guilt. "Open Sea was just as devastated when she found out. Hope turned to him, seeing the extreme pain in his face.

She hugged him suddenly and the mech hugged her back. "Let her go you Decepticon bastard!" Smokescreen snarled in anger and Glacierbreaker jerked away. "Wait, Smoke, don't shoot!" Hope cried and stood quickly, pushing his blaster away. "He's an Autobot." She stopped Smokescreen's protest. "He took the change to save me and his love." Smokescreen hesitated and lowered his weapon. "Is this the mech that helped you in the Arctic?" Hope nodded and helped Glacierbreaker stand. "Glacierbreaker, Smokescreen; Smokescreen, Glacierbreaker." The mechs nodded to one another and Hope felt them sizing up one another.

"Why were you fleeing?" Smokescreen questioned suspiciously. "When your companions attacked, Open Sea and I decided to use the chaos to escape. In our escape, we were separated and I couldn't find her. I, I fear she was killed." He murmured. Hope glanced between them, feeling he was telling the truth for the most part. "I'm sure she's fine." Hope tried to reassure him. Honestly, she had no idea if Open Sea was alive. Their bond was so stretched she felt nothing from the older femme. "We need to regroup with Optimus." Smokescreen spoke up and Glacierbreaker hesitated. "He'll hear you out." Hope added easing the mech's worry. "He's an understanding mech." Glacierbreaker nodded. "I know. I've worked with him before." Hope smiled softly. "Come on, the big guy is probably waiting." The trio was about to head in the direction of Darkmount when they heard the sound of massive engines approaching.

They faced the direction ready for a fight as the deep blue ship landed, the engines powering down slowly. Hope clasped her knife tightly as the dock lowered but all three relaxed when they spotted an upgraded Optimus and a massive new mech. The Prime glanced at Hope swiftly, a moment of relief passing over his faceplates, before glancing at Glacierbreaker. "On your knees Decepticon." The new mech barked. The large mech had a blaster pointed at Glacierbreaker's chest, and the ice blue mech tensed. He sank to his knees slowly, stopping Hope's protest. "It's okay little one, I'll be fine." Hope bit her lip hard as he pressed his hands to the back of his helm in surrender. "Ultra Magnus, Glacierbreaker is one of us." Optimus rumbled, seeing Hope's desperate glances. "If he was one of us, he would have an Autobot symbol in the middle of his chest." The dark blue mech snapped.

"I know him well, he has a reason." Optimus replied calmly. Ultra Magnus gazed at Glacierbreaker and reluctantly put away his blaster. The massive duo approached and Glacierbreaker allowed himself to be cuffed. Ultra Magnus hauled him to his feet and took point, followed by Optimus, Hope and Smokescreen. "It's good to see you again." Hope murmured to Optimus. The mech gazed down at her, relief still in his optics. "I'm glad you healed well." He rumbled and looked forward. Hope felt he blamed himself for her being harmed in the base collapse and was beating himself up for her wounds. She had to run a few paces to catch up with him, resting a hand on his large arm. "I don't blame you." She stated. The mech's optics widened in surprise and nodded, relaxing as they walked on the dock.

A shiver ran up her spinal column as it rose with the mechanical whine of the wench. The dock closed with a hiss and the rest of the team was waiting for them. Bumblebee tackled Hope with a hug, beeping and whirring happily while Ultra Magnus shoved Glacierbreaker to a seat. Hope noticed the others studying him but Glacierbreaker looked unfazed or fearful. Hope flopped on the seats, consisting of a bench and Bumblebee sat beside her. Their helms rested together and Bumblebee beeped happily. Hope clung tightly to him as the ship rose slowly with the drone of the engines in the background. Hope received news Agent Fowler had been able to get them a new base within a human army base and the team was flying there now. _'Hope, I've been meaning to tell you something for a while…' _He whirred softly as the others settled down. Hope looked at him questioningly. "What is it?" She asked. He gazed calmly into her optics. _'I love you Hope.' _He murmured. Hope blinked in surprise and hugged him, as he rested his chin on her helm. "I-I love you too." Hope replied shyly.


	44. Truce

_AN: Hope(Faith), Concord and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

_A soft breeze caused Hope to sigh contently. She lifted her wings to absorb the tender warmth of the sun and took in a deep, pleased breath as the light breeze caressed her wings. The salty scent of the breeze burned her intakes lightly but the soft clasps of the wave breaks below made up for the pain. Her optics gazed at the mildly churning water below, her sharp optics watching the waves form then decimate as they crashed into white breaks. She felt powerful, standing proudly at the edge of the cliff, simply watching nature. The height did not bother her; it hadn't for a long while. _

_Even if she did fall, her CPU knew she would simply transform gracefully into her jet alternant form and pull up, close to the water to allow the water to sprinkle onto her sensitive wings. A voice came from behind, and she turned slowly to her father's blurred form. She didn't know his details fully, as she knew his colours would have changed over the years, but the blur gave way to his main colours. His mint green optics shimmered and she imagined him smiling. "I love you Faith." The form faded slowly as a mist and a second voice echoed increasingly louder as the scene vanished._

* * *

"Hope, Hope, wake up." A strained groan came from the young femme. "Primus, I've been trying to wake you for half an hour, get up." Hope stirred at the stressed voice of Arcee. Her optics onlined and Hope slowly sat up, with a sleepy sigh and painful grunt. Hope blinked and gazed down at the smaller femme. "I'm awake." She mumbled and rubbed her face. The older femme huffed in annoyance, trying to hide her worry. "Ratchet wants you for a lesson." She grunted and Hope nodded. "Thank you." The young femme smoothed her blanket out, ignoring her growing pains, and left their area. The transition to a new base went smoothly, but Ultra Magnus appointed the berths for the entire team. To Hope's dismay, she was separated from Smokescreen, and now recharged near Arcee across the base from her father figure.

She transitioned well, though it was tough with her growing pains and nightmares setting in, but Arcee's encouragement helped her overcome her problems. After spending so much time with a mortally wounded Optimus Prime, Hope was glad the leader healed fully. The blast of energy had done the same to her, the fissure on her helm little more than a faint crack, the stab wound on her right arm a crescent shaped scar, the slash on her left just a scratch, the knee strut healed perfectly and the puncture would from the rebar now a nifty round circle. The burst had a side effect neither Ratchet nor Optimus expected, rekindling her growth and causing a massive growth spurt, roughly five feet in a week. Her body continued to grow, but not as fiercely as before and much slower.

When Hope entered the makeshift medical bay, Ratchet pulled her to a medical berth and gave her a checkup, a routine started after the beginning of her growth spurt. The medic made sure her systems weren't growing too swiftly, or causing too much stress on her body, before allowing Hope to get to her lesson. Ratchet learned how ill-prepared Hope had been with Optimus, so the leader allowed the medic to control her lessons. Hope was more than eager to pour herself into the work and she enjoyed the work greatly, maybe a bit too much. She was earning a reputation of acting like Ratchet, working harder than she should. Hope's focus broke when Ratchet transitioned her to learning of a Cybertronian CPU. The subject enthralled her as Ratchet informed her of the different parts and functions of the CPU. She understood everything the medic taught her despite having no prior experience in the matter.

Ratchet and Hope were surprised how easily she caught on so Ratchet moved on to another subject. Hope glanced up and smiled softly, watching Glacierbreaker approach with a proper insignia glistening on his chassis. "Hello Glacierbreaker." Ratchet greeted and the mech nodded to him in return. "Hello Ratchet, it's good to see you again." Glacierbreaker came to Hope and hugged her quickly, looking at Ratchet. He straightened up, his gaze calm. "Do you need any help Ratchet?" The medic nodded. "I've been working on the formula for synthetic energon and could use an extra mind." The ice blue mech nodded. "I see." Ratchet looked to Hope. "You can finish your work tomorrow." Feeling he wanted her to go, Hope nodded and let the pair work.

"Wait, Hope." The young femme paused at Ratchet's call and she faced him. He held a datapad in his hand and Hope took it from him. "It's from your father." Ratchet said simply and returned to his work. Hope was surprised and she quietly walked to the couch, settling beside the newly painted Bumblebee. She noticed the repaint before but had no time to tell him she liked it. "I can't believe he wrote back…" Hope whispered, hesitating to turn it on. _'You wrote him?'_ Bumblebee tipped his helm to the side and Hope nodded. "Yes. He wrote to my mother and I wrote back. Ratchet told me writing might relieve stress so I did, but I didn't know Ratchet actually sent it and I didn't expect him to write back…" Hope pulled the datapad to her chest. "Dad's still alive…" She whispered, and subspaced the datapad.

Bumblebee wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently, his optics glimmering happily. Both young bots jumped when the screech of tires echoed in the room. Hope stiffened, watching the blue car grind to a halt and transform up. At first, Hope thought the bot was new, but as soon as she saw the lopsided smirk, she knew who the mech was. "Smokey!" She cried happily, launching herself over the edge of the couch in a fluid push, and darting to him. The royal blue and gold mech chuckled as she hugged him tightly as his arms wrapped around her. "What's the occasion?" Hope questioned, releasing him. "Well, I figured I needed a new look, so I followed Bee's example and got me a new mode and paint job." "Now you can look great stacking those cubes." Ultra Magnus rumbled, causing Hope to jump in surprise. She still marveled in the fact such a large mech could be so light on his pedes.

Smokescreen stiffened in annoyance as the bossy mech turned away from them and went to Optimus Prime. Smokescreen huffed, kissed hope's helm and did as he was told. "I almost became a Prime and I'm still treated like a rookie." He muttered. Ratchet's helm popped up in surprise and Hope felt Ratchet's surprise. "What was that?" Ratchet spoke firmly. Smokescreen faltered. "I said it's time," He paused. "I said it's time to stop acting like a rookie." The medic narrowed his optics at the younger mech but returned to his work. Hope glanced at everybot, feeling the heavy tension mounting. She chewed on her lip and slunk off to the extra room in the hanger, hoping to find a calm place to meditate. She slipped inside and settled down in a corner. In the undisturbed room, her mind cleared and the light helm ache faded before the pain became too bad.

Her optics onlined quietly as she felt a presence enter the room, a soft smile spread across her lips as her optics focused upon Bumblebee's frame. The mech's optics smiled as he came to her side and sat beside her. _'Hope, can I talk to you?'_ He asked, becoming suddenly nervous. "Sure, of course Bee." She replied, trying to calm his fears. The mech nodded and took in a deep breath. _'Hope, I-I don't know how to put this…' _ He took her hand gently and massaged it with his thumb. _'Hope, I don't think, I don't think our relationship, will go any further. I still love you Hope, I do, but I don't think we're right for each other… I won't be able to love you like you would want to later on.'_ The mech paused and gazed down at her as she stared at the floor. She wanted to tell him she would love him no matter what, but the truth was; she expected this to happen. She knew the mech would never be able to interface with her and honestly, she was unsure if she would be able to either.

The pair respected each other too much and Hope realized she wasn't hurting. Even after telling him she loved him, she didn't hurt. She knew this would happen; she felt it when they started hanging out as a 'couple' and she took the separation easily. _'We-We're still friends right?" _Bumblebee asked nervous because of her silence. "Of course." Hope replied and hugged him. "I still love you too, you're the closest thing to a sibling I've ever had." Bumblebee's optics narrowed happily as his face smiled. He hugged her back and released her quickly. _'You're like a sibling to me too.'_ He replied and the pair fell into a comfortable silence. After several minutes, Bumblebee broke the silence. _'You came back here to get away from the chaos huh?'_ Hope nodded. "It was getting pretty chaotic and beginning to hurt my helm." She murmured. _'Has Ultra Magnus found out yet?'_ Bumblebee asked, earning a shake of the helm from Hope. "Not yet, I don't think I'll tell him just yet." She replied. "I'm not sure how he will react and some things need to remain secrets."

Bumblebee nodded, accepting the information. _*Hope, can you return to the medical bay?*_ Hope spooked at Ratchet's sudden comm. _*Yeah, I'll be right there.*_ She replied and stood. "Sorry 'Bee, I got to go." She gave him a quick hug and rushed to the medical bay. Hope stiffened as she approached the medical area, feeling the stress as Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack squabbled. The pair apparently had entered their usual bickering, and it stressed Hope to no end when they did. Hope's optics locked with Ratchet's and the medic nodded, telling her she could interrupt. The young femme hesitated as she walked slowly towards the pair. Wheeljack quivered after Ultra Magnus replied with his usual, uptight and calm manner. Hope quickly moved between the pair, trying to soothe them, despite the massive helm ache she received from entering the emotional hot-zone.

"Please, stop." She spoke firmly and glanced at Ultra Magnus. The mech's jaw tensed in annoyance and he gazed down at her with an air of superiority. "Please, sir, if I may speak?" She paused, looking between Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus as the larger mech gave a curt nod, while Wheeljack glared. "Please, we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves, especially now. Yes, each bot has differences but as a team, we need them, that's what makes a team better than a lone bot. We need to remain calm and collective, ready to face anything the Decepticons throw at us. Fighting one another won't help us any, in fact, it will probably put all of us in jeopardy. We have to remain unhindered in this time, able to help one another, but most of all, we need to remain unified." Hope hadn't expected to leave the entire base in a shocked silence with her words. She forgot the hanger was much smaller than the previous base and her voice echoed within it. Everything in her told her to shy away and look down nervously, but she fought it and calmly gazed up at Ultra Magnus. The two previously quarreling mechs studied her and she felt the rest of the team's optics on her.

Ultra Magnus took in a deep intake and nodded, his expression falling blank once more. Honestly, Hope thought the large, high ranking mech would be furious, but he gazed down at her with agreement in his optics. "You are correct femme; we should not be fighting one another. We should be focusing on the Decepticons instead." The mech glanced at Wheeljack and nodded respectively. "I have forgotten your abilities as a soldier, and though I dislike your methods, the team needs your strength." Wheeljack was utterly shocked, but he nodded with a sloppy smirk. "Thank you, sir." The mech had no sarcasm in his voice. Hope's stiff doorwings relaxed as a general air of respect between the two replaced the tension. Wheeljack left the hanger shortly afterwards and Ultra Magnus' gaze shifted to Hope.

"Your word extend your youth soldier, and you remind me of a mech. Tell me femme, who was your father?" Hope was a bit taken aback by his question, mainly because she wasn't expecting him to speak, and she was focusing on her throbbing doorwings. Hope hesitated before answering his question, she didn't know if the mech would know her father. "My father's name is Concord." Her reply made the mech nod once. "I see the resemblance now and you have definitely taken after his personality." Hope stared at the mech in shock. "You knew my father?" "I did, I was his commanding officer for a short while." Ultra Magnus responded simply. "He was young, hotheaded and stubborn when he first joined the military. He acted as most mechs, but in just a few years, he grew up suddenly. I don't know what the cause was, but he grew up, almost overnight. He changed into a good mech though, but he remained stubborn. The last news I heard of him, the mech was climbing ranks and I believe he was sent to a peaceful planet."

Hope blinked and looked at the floor, fighting the tears welling in her optics. "T-Thank you." Hope murmured. Ultra Magnus gave her a curt nod and left to speak with Optimus, as the blue mech walked, Optimus opened a private communication link with Hope. _*That was a very Prime thing for you to do Hope. You are definitely growing up little one.* _Hope thanked him over the links and smiled softly, the pain from her worries easing. Ratchet motioned Hope over and allowed her to join the discussion of creating synthetic energon with Glacierbreaker. Hope was a bit out of her comfort zone as she spoke with Ratchet, but she asked a lot of questions, and she became comfortable in the discussion. Hope knew the medic was desperate to finish the synthetic energon formula and the only reason Hope was allowed to help was because he needed a third mind. The trio was too wrapped up in their discussion to notice Optimus Prime leaving to scout for energon, but they all turned in surprise when Optimus returned with a Predacon bone. Hope had yet to see the living embodiment of the bone but it seemed to terrify everyone else so Hope imagined it would be terrifying. After discovering the Predacons made up a huge part of human culture, Optimus sent out most of the team to retrieve the remaining bones. Being a medic, Hope remained at the base, politely refusing Smokescreen's offer to join him. The missions failed and afterwards, the Decepticons fell eerily silent.

Hope's frame relaxed, relishing the silence of the spare room. She decided to come here after the calculations for the synthetic energon formula became too advanced for her, and no amount of explaining would help her understand the complex mathematics. Gliding through the tai chi forms Dreadwing taught her, she relaxed greatly, the excess energy clinging to her from increasing stress released from her shoulders and body. With her optics offline, she felt a bot enter, able to feel the bots energy through the concrete as her doorwings flicked. "Yes?" Hope asked, keeping her optics offline. A moment of surprise passed from the bot before the bot spoke. "I, wanted to talk to you, femme." Hope pulled her hands near her frame and pushed her hands, palms facing the floor, down as she centered herself with a relaxed sigh. Her optics flickered online and focused on Wheeljack. She nodded to the mech, showing him he could talk.

The sharp pain of a wounded pride hit Hope as the mech prepared to speak, but she remained calm. "Look, kid, I want to apologize for my actions, from before. I shouldn't have attacked you like that." Wheeljack shifted, keeping his distance from the femme, standing near the doorframe. An uneasy silence fell as Hope considered his truthful words. "You have been thinking about this a lot haven't you?" Hope questioned, receiving a nod. "After you gave that speech the other day, I realized you're a good femme and I misjudged you drastically." He closed the distance between them and offered her his hand. "Truce?" He simply asked. Hope took his hand without hesitation. "Truce." She agreed firmly. They shook and fell into an uncomfortable silence, Wheeljack shifting backwards somewhat nervously.

"So, um." He motioned to her with a light wave of the hand. "What were you doing?" "Tai chi, it helps me focus and calm." Hope answered, her doorwings lowering calmly. "Something Dreadwing showed you?" Wheeljack guessed, raising an optic ridge. Hope nodded. "Yes, the movements relax me and prevent me from overstressing." The mech paused in thought, his optics narrowing slightly. "You remind me of a bot." Wheeljack thought again. "You're Concord's kid." He exclaimed. "Hard to believe he ever had one." He studied her for a short time. "Look a lot like him, definitely have his optics." Hope hesitated. "How did you know him?" Wheeljack chuckled. "He was a commanding officer for a short time. He was a bit of a stiff, strict and had something up his tailpipe, but not as badly as Ultra Magnus though." Hope couldn't stop her light laugh, and his statement reminded her of the letter he wrote, with mostly Standard English.

Wheeljack stiffened suddenly, Hope guessed a bot opened a communication link with him, and annoyance prickled through the mech's frame. Hope placed a hand gently on his large forearm armour. "Ultra Magnus is just doing his job." She said calmly. Wheeljack paused, nodded; then left. Hope's frame relaxed as she watched the mech leave. She walked to the wall and settled down, pulling out the letter from her father. She ran her thumb across the smooth surface of the datapad. She realized why she hadn't read it yet, other than the fact she hadn't had time; honestly she was scared. She didn't know if her father would remember her, or even still love her, though something deep inside her disagreed with her fears. Not knowing frightened her on a level Hope never felt before. She felt fear before, but this was new, this feeling was an intense worry. Pushing her unease away, she turned on the datapad, reading her reply to his first writing before reading anything else.

_ Hi, Dad…_

_I-I don't know if you remember me, but I am your daughter, Faith. I was renamed Hope, but if you still want to call me Faith, I don't mid. Mom, Mom was killed. I don't know if you still love her, but she died when I was about three and I think she still loved you when she dies. Libel killed her… He's no longer taking care of me, another bot is. My new caretaker is really kind, I promise. I-I don't know if you remember me Daddy, but I love you. You're still my father and I still love you. I hope you can reply Daddy… I love you. _Hope forced herself not to cry and she paused for a moment before reading her father's reply.

_Faith, I mean, Hope?_

_I can't believe you're still alive; I'm so relieved you're alive. I could never forget my only sparkling. You're my baby little one. I'm glad Libel no longer takes care of you. I've heard rumors the mech is dead. I feel they are true, as usually they are. A mech feared on the battlefield is rarely lied about. I hope you are faring well sweetheart; I miss you. Ratchet sent me news as to where you are, and the team, in this vast space, and I want to tell you, I am trying to get to you. In case you are not able to reply, I love you so much. I swear, I'm going to find you. I love you little one, stay healthy. _

Hope fought the sobs clawing at the back of her throat. Her father remembered her and apparently accepted she had changed her name. She knew her father told her he would never forget her in his first letter, but after so many years, she feared he forgot her. His reply told her he did and her fear turned to excitement. She brushed away the tears forming quickly, calming herself somewhat. She quickly added her reply, planning to give her reply to Ratchet in the morning.

_Dad,_

_I'm happy you're all right. I'm doing well with the team but I miss you. I can't wait to see you, Dad. Libel is dead; a close friend killed him before passing. The Decepticons are encroaching and honestly, I'm getting a little scared. Everybot is stressing right now and I think we're all scared. I don't like fighting, I know how to, but I don't like it. I don't know if I could ever kill a bot. I hope it never comes to killing, but if I had to, I think I could. I don't know what's going to happen in the near future, but I think I can make it through. I love you Daddy. _


	45. Newbie

_AN: All right this chapter is a well liked one of mine and is going to feature one of my good friend's OCs on deviantART, Flightspeed._

_Hope and any other OCs (c) Me_

_Flightspeed belongs to Swiftstone on deviantART. you should check out her stuff ;)_

_Smokescreen, Ratchet, Optimus, Knockout and any other Canon bots (c) Hasbro_

_**I do not own Transformers**_

* * *

Hope heaved a bored sigh, disliking the fact she was on a patrol, alone. She hated being alone, it was too quiet and she was still a bit nervous of Decepticons suddenly popping up. She had too though, her teammates were scattered across the perimeter doing the same thing she was, making sure the Decepticons weren't attacking. She needed to become accustomed to being alone though, and she thought she was doing a good job at it. Her thoughts were broken at the roar of something heavy falling though the sky. Hope screeched to a halt, checking before she transformed, and watched some sort of Cybertronian craft fall, then smash into the earth. Hope blinked in surprise, her shoulders slumping. She was at the most desolate part of the perimeter and of course, something had to happen. She fought a groan and slowly trekked to where the craft had fallen in a small chunk of hardy trees.

She ducked beneath healthy and broken branches as she walked to the site, pausing to consider contacting Ratchet. She chewed her lip, but continued forward and approached it nervously. There was no sign of movement from inside the craft and Hope circled the chunk of twisted metal, wondering if anything could have survived the crash. She found the opening panel and gripped the handle tightly, her spark pounding in her chest. She took in a steadying breath o calm her nerves, and pulled on the latch. Being stuck, the latch wouldn't give so Hope jerked it with all her might. She yelped in surprise when she fell flat on her aft while a mech tumbled from the craft.

Hope tensed, ready to flee in a moment's notice but the mech showed no signs of getting up. Her helm tipped to the side in surprise and she crawled slowly to the mech. His intakes were steady, deep and worriedly irregular. Hope slipped to him and rolled him over gently, using the tactics Ratchet taught her. The mech remained offline as she moved him and it worried her. The mech seemed healthy and uninjured, except for the small scuffs and scratches on his paint from the fall and a scan proved her theory. Hope would have attempted to catch him, but thinking about it, she realized with his frame, he probably would have squashed her. He wasn't as large as Optimus Prime, but he was still a rather big mech, with a medium build with, to Hope's relief, an Autobot insignia glimmering on his broad chassis.

She wondered fearfully why he wasn't waking and decided to find out. With a final glance to the mech's white face, she squeezed into the severely damaged craft. She checked the computer and the cracked screen showed a report stasis had been forced. Hope let out a relieved sigh and shimmed out of the craft. Thankfully, she knew how to bring the mech around and probably wouldn't have to drag him to the base. Even with a spacebridge, lugging the youthful mech into the base would be extremely difficult. She brought out her medical kit, drew a small amount of the drug to wake him and efficiently injected him with it. Within a respectable amount of time, the mech's emerald optics slowly flickered online.

By instinct, the mech sat up and it took all of Hope's strength to pin him back down. "Stay down and let your systems reboot." Hope said firmly, but noticed the mech's slightly panicked expression and swift intakes. His optics were wide as he stared at her and she tapped the emblem on her chest, switching to Cybertronian temporarily. "Easy mech, Autobot." She promised and he relaxed slowly, letting his systems boot up steadily. Hope sat back on her knees and watched as the mech's frame slowly came to life. He took in a deep intake and released it softly, his optics examining the surroundings. "Where, where am I?" He asked, tentatively using English. "The planet is called Earth." Hope replied, backing off a little to give him some space. He sat up slowly and glanced at her, a shy smile coming to his lips. "Well, um, thank you little femme." He looked away swiftly. "Can you tell me what language I'm speaking?" "The humans call it English." The mech stared at her confused, shyness preventing his speech.

Hope fought back a chuckle feeling the mech's nervousness at being around a femme. "You'll find out about them in a little while." She promised and stood. She quickly asked Ratchet to open a ground bridge through her communication link and the medic did so. She informed him of the new mech and the medic was waiting for her to come through the bridge. "You guys have ground bridges?" The mech asked, not looking at her. Hope nodded, sensing he forced himself to speak to her, in an attempt to overcome a weakness. Hope nodded and offered him a hand, after she was sure he could walk. He nervously took it, and Hope helped him stand. He stood on his own easily and Hope guided him through the ground bridge. As they walked through it, the mech spoke again. "Thank you again little femme. My name is Flightspeed." He introduced himself shyly. Hope nodded. "My name is Hope." She told the mech, not seeing the nervous smile on his faceplates.

The new mech fell easily into the ranks of the team, his personality truly showing as he spent time with the mechs of the base. Hope felt his excitement when he spoke with Wheeljack and Bulkhead, and she figured he wanted to be a Wrecker. The mech's youth showed through in his actions and Hope was surprised to learn he was not much older than Bumblebee. The said mech enjoyed Flightspeed's enthusiasm while it annoyed Ultra Magnus to no end. In all the turmoil of emotion and feelings, Hope no longer had helmaches because of it. She also felt a hint of attraction coming from the new mech, lightly at first but it became stronger. She wasn't sure if it was for her or Arcee, as the times she felt it both femmes had been in the same room, but after Arcee chewed him out for something, Hope felt it was for her. She was a bit surprised as the thought came to mind, especially after her growth spurt and armour changes, as she didn't really consider herself pretty.

* * *

Hope watched Smokescreen and Flightspeed joke and laugh, breaking her thoughts temporarily. She studied them quietly and returned to her reading, once more becoming wrapped up in her book on her datapad. She didn't notice the pair had broken up when Optimus assigned Smokescreen to a patrol and she certainly didn't notice Flightspeed approaching her. She didn't hear him say her name, but the next time, she did. She yelped and jumped in surprise as his voice came right beside her and he touched her shoulder. The mech spooked at her reaction and with wide optics backed off. Hope let herself calm down and glanced uneasily at the mech. "I-I'm sorry little femme." The mech said quickly, picking up her datapad. "I thought you heard me approach." Hope took her datapad back and shook her helm softly. "It's okay." Hope accepted his apology, relaxing. "I was wrapped up in my reading." She explained quietly and put her datapad in subspace. "Did you hear Optimus?" He asked. Hope shook her helm. "No. Why?" "He wants us to go on a patrol together, the normal check the perimeter type stuff." Hope felt his hesitation and nervousness as he informed her and Hope nodded. "Alright." She stood from her perch from the couch and flexed her aching hand.

Flightspeed quietly led the way outside the hanger-base and transformed down to his Corvette alt mode. Hope hadn't expected him to transform into such a car but she quickly followed his example, settling down into her Porsche alternative mode. The mech took point and Hope was happy to hit the road. Her chassis relaxed while they traveled over the smooth asphalt and left the military base. The pair were silent during the first few minutes, before Flightspeed finally commed her. _*So, uh, wh-what were you reading, back there, at the base?…* _Hope could feel the skittishness and fascination radiating from him as he spoke. _*I was reading some scary stories.* _She explained. _*I usually wouldn't be reading them but Miko managed to persuade me to read a few. _She added for good measure. The mech fell silent and his unease remained. Hope remained silent as well, feeling the mech's confusion and yearning to talk.

The air around the pair eventually shifted to comfortable and Hope was able to calm. They turned off onto the usual feeder road for the branch of perimeter they were driving on and the general feeling was boredom. A blood red sports car passed and Flightspeed and the sports car screeched to a stop suddenly, with Hope struggling to stop. Thankfully, the road had cleared as Flightspeed transformed up, swiftly followed by the red mech and Hope. Hope stiffened, recognizing the mech from long ago. "Knockout." Flightspeed growled angrily, the mech moving in front of Hope. Hope was a bit surprised as the other mech snorted angrily. "Flightspeed, good to see that hideous paintjob again." The cherry mech smirked and shifted aggressively. "Stay here little femme." Flightspeed ordered, drawing the broadsword Hope just noticed from his back while Knockout retracted his hand, transforming it into a circular saw blade. Unable to stop the pair, Hope watched helplessly as the mechs charged one another.

Hope watched in complete surprise, too shocked to move as the pair dueled. Hope snapped herself out of her surprise and she darted forward, willing to enter the fray to help Flightspeed. She didn't know him but he was still a team member. "Stay back!" Flightspeed cried, causing Hope to pause. "Aw, Flightspeed has a femme to protect." Knockout smirked and Flightspeed quivered in rage. Knockout smiled in success, knowing he touched a nerve. "Leave her out of this." Flightspeed growled angrily and the pair attacked each other once more. Hope hesitated, but forced herself to allow the mechs to duke it out. She paced nervously as the mechs fought and she watched both receive injuries, feeling as if she was Arcee watching her and Wheeljack battle. Her body stiffened when Flightspeed smashed to the earth, Knockout standing over him, his saw-blade whirring as he leaned over somewhat with a certain glimmer in his optics.

Hope stiffened and bolted towards the pair, tackling Knockout with surprising ease and sending both smashing to the earth. Hope rolled instinctively and popped up while Knockout lie limply on the earth, unmoving. Panting, Hope rushed to Flightspeed's side, her optics widening at the wounds the mech had. He didn't have life threatening wounds but the saw blade had done some serious damage. She glanced back at Knockout, the red mech groaning and slowly beginning to move. "Stay down!" She snapped angrily, not feeling the confidence she put forth in her voice. The red mech stopped his attempt to get up and lie down firmly on the ground, Hope feeling his surprise and unease. She relaxed inwardly but returned her attention to Flightspeed. His optics remained firmly offline, his face twisted in a grimace as he clutched his side. Hope bit her lip and forced him to release his side.

He hissed in pain and his face twisted further. "Wow, yeah, that stings." He grimaced and Hope inspected the bleeding wound. She heaved a sigh, relieved the wound wasn't as bad as she thought it was. She sterilized his wounds and effortlessly patched the wounds with the skill Ratchet instilled upon her. The mech remained limp, occasionally gasping in pain as she worked but his frame relaxed when she finished her work. She couldn't do anything else; as she knew, his self-repair systems would heal the minor cuts. Hope stiffened when she heard the sound of a ground bridge opening. She glanced back in terror but her fear subsided when Knockout fled into the swirling vortex. She glanced back to Flightspeed and patted his cheek. "Hey, online those optics." She said firmly and the emerald orbs slowly blazed online. He blinked a few times and they focused on her. "Hey little femme." He forced a carefree smile but Hope heard the pain in his voice.

He attempted to sit up but Hope forced him to lie back down. "Relax; let your self-repair systems kick in for a few minutes." The mech nodded and the pair fell into an uncomfortable silence, his gaze shifting to the sky. For the first time, Hope managed to get a good look of the mech. His emerald optics were a stark contrast to his white faceplate and his deep blue armour. His broad shoulders transitioned to a powerful chest and muscular arms. His abdomen rippled with strength as he took in steady intakes and his hips adjusted to solid thighs and strong lower legs. Hope blinked in wonder at the mech's surprising good looks but she quickly shook her helm to distract herself. He needed to get back to the base and Ratchet; he needed more help than what she could do. She commed Ratchet and the medic was a bit surprised. _*Hey Ratchet, Flightspeed and I have encountered a little, problem. Can you send us a ground bridge? Flightspeed is hurt pretty bad so I think I'm going to need some help getting him back to base.* _

Ratchet paused before his reply. _*I'll send Bulkhead to you. How badly is he wounded?* _Hope glanced over Flightspeed once more. _*Minor wounds mostly, I managed to fix the more severe wounds.* _Another pause. _*I see. Sending Bulkhead now.* _Hope looked up as a ground bridge opened and Bulkhead stepped out. Bulkhead studied the pair and helped Flightspeed to his feet. Hope stood quickly and helped Bulkhead carry Flightspeed into the medical bay. Bulkhead eased him to a berth and left after a quiet thanks from Flightspeed. Hope approached his side and sat in a chair beside his body. She felt his nervousness as Ratchet inspected Flightspeed and the medic studied the two. Hope shrank from his gaze and glanced at Flightspeed. The mech's gaze remained fixed upon the ceiling. "Flightspeed, when are you ever going to learn?" Ratchet began his voice a scolding tone. "You know that will never happen." Flightspeed replied, a soft smirk upon his lips, trying to lighten the mood. "Besides, Knockout started it…"

"I don't care." Ratchet snapped. "I don't think Hope would want to constantly see you wind up in the medical bay, especially since you two seem to be closer." Both squirmed in surprise and said nothing while Ratchet finished looking them over. "You did very well Hope." Ratchet spoke calmly and Hope smiled happily, nodded in thanks. The medic nodded and infused Flightspeed with some energon to bring his levels back up. Hope shifted nervously and watched Ratchet leave to his work after telling Flightspeed he could go. Flightspeed felt nervous too, and Hope glanced at the blue mech. His gazed remained fixed upon the ceiling. "I-I'm sorry Hope, I didn't mean to drag you into that…" Hope looked down shyly and shrugged. "It's okay." She replied. "Nah, it's not… I need to make it up to you… Maybe a date…" He murmured his voice a bit hesitant. Hope chewed on hip lip. "O-Okay." She managed. "How about a movie?" She suggested. "Sounds good." He replied. Still staring at the ceiling, he reached over and took her hand, causing Hope to look away with a blush. "Oh, and Hope, thanks, for, um, saving my aft back there…" He added and Hope smiled softly, feeling a crush forming.

* * *

_On another note, this will be the last chapter for while. I'm going to be rewriting this bad boy, but I wont start posting chapters until I have it completed. Hopefully I can get it done quickly enough and you wont have to wait long. I apologize but I really need to change this story a tad. _


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